– The 774 local government areas in Nigeria will be provided with internet connectivity within the next four years
– The assurance was given on Thursday, November 8, by the minister of budget and national planning, Udo Udoma
– He says one of the projects supported by the Industrial Council is a project to increase broadband penetration across all geopolitical zones of the country
The minister of budget and national planning, Udo Udoma, has said that in four years, there will be internet connectivity in every of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the minister during the 42nd Annual Conference of Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) in Lagos on Thursday, November 8, The Cable reports.
Legit.ng notes that Udoma said: “Government has set up an Industrial Policy & Competitiveness Advisory Council (Industrial Council), with extensive private sector membership, as a vehicle for partnering with the private sector on the industrialization drive.
“One of the projects supported by the Industrial Council, is a project to increase broadband penetration across all geopolitical zones of the country.
“This project is intended to ensure that within the next four years every single one of the 774 LGAs in the country will be provided with fibre connectivity.”
According to the minister, the government has also been working consistently to deliver diversification of the economy through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
He said: “There is no doubt that we are making good progress in our efforts to revive and diversify the economy. However, is the economy sufficiently diversified? My answer is not yet.
“Whilst the oil and gas sector constitutes less than 10% of our GDP, it still represents too large a percentage of our foreign exchange earnings. We need to grow our non-oil exports to overtake oil in terms of our foreign exchange earnings as countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have achieved.
“This will take some time. However, there is no doubt in my mind that we are on the right track. If we consistently and faithfully continue with the implementation of the ERGP we will become an economic production powerhouse. We will be able to feed ourselves and have extra for export.”
Meanwhile, TRACK NEWS previously reported that the federal government said it would provide free internet access to about 10 million Nigerians in key locations across the country.
This was disclosed by the senior special assistant to the president on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
