Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, has restated   commitment of the present administration to leverage on ICT infrastructure for economic and social development in Nigeria.

Mrs Johnson while speaking on Wednesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, stressed that the ministry was intervening and working on a number of initiatives that would reduce the digital divide within the country and ensure that no Nigerian was excluded from ICTs, irrespective of geographical location, gender or income levels.

She said the ministry would enable inclusive development by creating the right environment through effective private- public sector collaborations that will bring ICTs to all Nigerians.

She emphasised that a process of ensuring that underserved and rural areas was included in the development process, currently being vigorously pursued through ICTs by the Federal Government.

At the Forum by the GSM Association which promotes mobile technology as a veritable tool for connecting the unconnected, Johnson said that the Ministry was working to remove the barriers that work against inclusive development in the country.

Describing the mobile phone as a great device that most Nigerians currently deploy to stay connected, Johnson stressed that the mobile platform currently provides endless opportunities and possibilities for development for Nigerians that needs to be harnessed in terms of using mobile communication devices as enablers of development.

She said that Nigeria currently has over 95 million subscribers leading to a situation where Nigerians have mobile phones than bank account accounts.

On mobile broadband access, Johnson reiterated that mobile broadband is important for Nigeria and stressed the need for Nigeria to have enough Spectrum to accelerate broadband development.

She said that because Nigeria has not had a viable incumbent to provide the needed fixed infrastructure, network providers have had to build their own infrastructure. She also added that the country was currently in the process of facilitating the roll out of infrastructure that will enable rural access.

On mobile broadband access, Johnson reiterated that mobile broadband is important for Nigeria and stressed the need for Nigeria to have enough spectrums to deliver critical services over the broadband infrastructure.

She added that a mixture of fibre, satellite and mobile infrastructure  will be deployed by Nigeria to achieve its set objectives.

She said that spectrum will be used in a most efficient way to get more people connected to critical data that will engender development in the area of health, education and agriculture.

Earlier, Secretary General of the ITU, Hamadoun Toure said that the world has witnessed massive transformation made possible by mobile revolution. He stressed that broadband infrastructure must be considered a critical infrastructure that will facilitate global development.

He added that one of the keys that will massively increase progress in broadband will be mobile. Toure also said that efforts were on to make mobile broadband a key economic driver across the globe by ensuring that issues of policy, affordability and uptake are taken care of to facilitate broadband penetration to even the remotest areas.