The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu said plans are underway to expand the number of data centers in the country for a digital presence...
The platform, apart from consolidating
existing government ICT infrastructure, also enables MDAs to exchange
data in a seamless manner while allowing each other to remain
independent and maintain its privacy and the security of its operatives.
Shittu stated this in a keynote address
entitled, ‘Empowering Digital Governments to share latest innovative
technology trends and government solutions with emphasis on Microsoft’s
Technology platform to improve the capabilities of government within
Nigeria’, which he delivered at the 2017 Microsoft Digital Government
Conference in Abuja.
The minister said through the 1-gov.net,
government has become more participative and accessible where citizens
can participate in policy process through discussions, suggestions and
online-polls.
“Various Government Departments are using
this platform for seeking inputs on a wide range of issues. Using the
1-gov.net Platform, Government has been able to save 30 per cent of what
it would have expended on a unit per unit cost. As at date 90 per cent
of all MDAs within Abuja are linked with fiber backbone and 3,500
locations of different MDAs have been touched across the country. About
270 MDAs websites and applications are being hosted on the network,
adding that“Government has recorded success in 1-gov.net, we now focus
on some services that have direct bearing on the present
administration’s priorities, and we determined to continue with the
shared ICT infrastructure and services initiative in the MDAs. The
1-gov.net is promoting Whole-of-Government approaches in the information
Age based on shared services. This approach will enhance productivity
of government officials, increase experience of patrons of government
services, enhance security and drive out the menace of corruption.
He said the government recognises the
urgent need to increase efficiency and transparency, improve and align
processes, smart government and smart cities, attract new investors,
bridge the digital divide, transform government transaction services,
data-driven government, better access to and management of information,
thereby enhancing citizen satisfaction and trust, meeting the needs of
rapidly changing demographics and balancing costs while optimizing
efficiency.
According to him, digital government is a
vision statement that seeks to bring about citizen empowerment by
harnessing the potentials of ICTs as well as seeking to transform
government into digitally empowered society and knowledge economy in a
manner that government is available on the palm of every citizen, where –
The Government is open and the Governance Transparent Digital
Government, he said, does not comprise the digital architecture alone,
but it encompasses digital delivery of citizen-centric services, and
ultimately, digital empowerment of the people.
“Internet users in Nigeria have crossed
90 million. The mobile users have also crossed 156million mark. The
smart phone users are more than 60 million. Today, from booking of train
tickets to payment of fees and taxes, from post office and banking
transactions to issue of digital documents, online registrations to
online applications and e-services, Digital Revolution is seen
everywhere and touches almost every aspect of life of a common citizen.
The minister disclosed that government
invests in shared ICT Infrastructure to secure the benefits of lower
cost, increased security, increased innovation and faster service
delivery, adding that government is supporting the development and
sustenance of ICT applications that are driving cost effectiveness and
transparency in Government Service Delivery. He added that applications
supporting the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA), IPPIS, Budget Portal and
BVN verifications among others are already resulting in huge savings.
The Ministry of Communications, he
said,has expanded the Open Government Data Portal which is a part of the
Federal Government Open Data Initiative, stressing that many civil
servants have been trained across MDAs on the use of the portal.
He said government would appreciate the
opportunity for Microsoft to help train our local ICT savvy youth and
key into our local content policy on current projects and priorities to
ensure a smooth transition, while he emphasized that Nigeria is the new
bride in empowering Digital Governments to share latest innovative
technology trends and Government solutions to improve the capabilities
of government within Nigeria.
Commending the digital giant, he said,“I
take this opportunity to applaud Microsoft and its contributions in the
development and growth of the country through this noble initiative. The
Ministry of Communications will continue to partner with the organized
Private sector, and other stakeholders, in its bid to move the
digitization efforts of the country forward. I would like once again to
congratulate the Microsoft team for organizing this timely and
commendable conference.
“I am aware that Microsoft in
collaboration with the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency
(NITDA) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) are committed to
supporting the government’s transformation by leveraging technology to
drive productivity and empower citizens to do more regardless of
location and time. Citizens’ engagement is a key performance indicator
of any government and Microsoft, NITDA & NCC can provide robust
platforms that help citizens provide feedback and queries to their
leaders. Ultimately, digitally transforming government leads to good
governance, accountability to citizens and builds trust between the
government and its citizenry”.
NCC pledges level playing field
The
telecoms umpire, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has assured
existing and prospective investors of a level playing field.
According to the commission, its mandate
is to regulate the telecommunications sector in line with global best
practices and sustain investors confidence in Nigeria.
This assurance came on the heels of a courtesy call from a delegation from Standard Bank Group visited the Commission in Abuja.
Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder
Management, (NCC), Mr. Sunday Dare who received the delegation on behalf
of the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof.Umar Garba Danbatta said
that the Commission has sole statutory mandate for the economic,
technical and commercial regulation of the telecoms industry.
The NCC, Dare said, supervises a $68
billion investments telecom industry and has a clear mandate to create a
conducive atmosphere for investment inflows into the economy in Nigeria
and does that with rules that are clear, transparently made, uniformly
applied and fairly enforced.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings (a member of
Standard Bank Group) visited the Commission as part of its efforts to
create enabling environment for international and local investments and
meet with select organisations over strategic investment opportunities.
“We are committed to providing a level
playing field for all stakeholders”, Dare affirmed adding that the NCC
is focused on assuring industry sustainability and creating fresh
investment opportunities through actions such as: aggressively tackling
ecosystem challenges (Access to forex, Multiple taxation and Rights of
way.
Carrying out a Comprehensive review of our Licensing framework and processes
Pursuing new options for spectrum efficiency(Spectrum sharing/trading, releasing new spectrum, etc)
Addressing pricing issues which impact
business decisions (cost studies on interconnect and data pricing are
ongoing. A market study is also underway
In his presentation, “Overview of the
Nigerian Telecommunications Industry”, Head of Competition and Tariff,
(NCC), Mr. Abubakar Yakubu narrated how the Industry has witnessed
unprecedented growth in terms of subscriptions to telecom services,
network roll out, infrastructural development and investments. According
to him, the Nigerian Market is ranked as the fastest growing industry
amongst emerging markets in Africa.
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