By Adeleye Kunle
In commemoration of this year’s Digital Nigeria Day, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), Prof Umar Danbatta, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi and others Chief Executives under the Ministry have highlighted N408.7 billion revenue generation to the federal government and other achievements of Nigeria’s digital economy policies.
Track News learnt this at a press conference hosted by the Minister, Prof Pantami on Monday to mark the commencement of Digital Nigeria Day slated for 25th-27th October 2022.
He further listed, ”134 percent Implementation of Broadband Connectivity; 127 per cent deployment of 4G across the country;
99 percent digitalising of government functions and processes; 103 percent development and implementation of a National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy; 86 percent implementation of a Digital Identity Programme; 594 percent Improvement and optimization of revenues from all operators and licensees in the agencies under the Ministry’s supervision and 111 per cent Active collaboration with the Private; 137 percent Empowerment of citizens and Nigeria Startup Act as unprecendecent achievements recorded in the period under review.
“Over 863,372 citizens benefited from digital skills programmes and we have agreements with leading global companies like Microsoft and Huawei, to train millions of Nigerians.
“On assumption of office on the 21st of August 2019, the official broadband penetration figures stood at 33.72% and today it is 44.65%, representing close to 13 million new broadband users. Similarly, there were 13,823 4G base stations and we now have 36,751, representing a 165.86% increase. The percentage 4G coverage across the country also increased from 23% to 77.52%. Additionally, the cost of data has crashed from N1,200 per GB to about N350, making it easier for Nigerians to connect to the Internet.
“We have also developed an IT clearance portal to support inoperability, eliminate duplication and ensure value for money in the implementation of ICT projects in the country.
“The quarterly savings from the IT Projects’ Clearance Process rose from N12.45 million to N10.57 billion.
“We aim to create a pool of Innovation Driven Enterprises (IDEs) to accelerate the development of Nigeria’s digital economy. Through our efforts, 355,610 direct and indirect jobs were created.
“Privacy concerns are also being addressed through the newly established Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB). The drafting of the data protection bill has reached an advanced stage. Digital Identity enrolments have also been very successful, with issued National Identification Numbers (NINs) rising from less than 40 million to over 90 million.
“We have been very active in the emerging technology space and even established the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), the first of such centres in Africa.
“As part of our efforts to promote indigenous content, we have developed a policy for promoting indigenous content in the telecom sector to complement similar efforts that focus on the information technology sector. This is important to stem the tide of capital flight, amongst other things.
“The efforts of the Ministry continue to play a critical role in the development of the different sectors of the economy. I call on all stakeholders to persist in supporting us to further accelerate the development of the sector”, he stated
