By Juliet Umeh

Technology company, DigiServe Network Services Limited is organising a one-day conference to discuss how technology adoption in government can boost government IGR, enhance Government service delivery and reduce unemployment in the country.

The conference is in partnership with Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS; Nigeria Communication Commission, NCC; National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA; Association of Telecoms companies of Nigeria, ATCON, and Nigeria Internet Registration Association, NIRA.

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With the theme: “eGovernment: Powering Governance with ICT”, the conference which holds towards the end of October in Lagos, will provide opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the recently approved National eGovernment plan and parley on how to remove the barriers militating against the growth of the Nigerian telecoms and ICT sector.

Organisers of the event said it couldn’t have come at a better time, considering low internally generated revenue, IGR,  huge ICT infrastructure deficiency and massive youth unemployment rate in Nigeria today.

Executive Chairman of DigiServe Network Mr. Lanre Ajayi, said: “Nigeria is said to be the poverty capital of the world, having the highest number of people living below the poverty line. The combined IGR for all the states in Nigeria in the year 2018 is said to be a mere N1.6 trillion, which is just about the revenue of just one Telecoms Company operating in Nigeria. One of the ways of reversing this gloomy picture is to mainstream technology in governance.”

Ajayi further explained that the Nigeria eGovernment Conference would provide a platform where government officials and experts in various specializations in ICT can interact, share perspective and develop roadmap to mainstreaming ICT in various departments of government.

He said: “We are assembling top notch experts and world-class ICT service providers to share expertise on how to deepen ICT in governance. The resolutions at the conference will be printed in book format and delivered to relevant government agencies and other stakeholders, with a view to ensuring implementation of the resolutions” Ajayi said.