… Ordered Expansion To Other Zones

By Emmanuel Elebeke

The Federal government on Thursday inaugurated the FCT e-Government Training Centre Governing Committee for the in Abuja.

Inaugurating the Committee, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantani, said the action was in line with the NITDA’s Act 2007 which mandated the agency to come up with framework and regulatory instrument for E- governance implementation and the Galaxy Backbone to provide what is required of digital infrastructure for federal public institutions and e-governance implementation.

In setting up the committee to commence the process, the minister said the ministry would ensure sustainability of the center, adding that the ministry will play the key role of supervision and ensure that things are on track.

On terms of reference, the Minister said the committee should meet from time to agree on what to be done; to ensure that all federal public servants are trained on E-government; to come up with a framework, legal and regulatory instrument for the center; has the responsibility to review and monitor operational procedures of the center and ensure sustainability of the center and develop strategy for attracting funding.

The Committee is equally mandated to collaborate and expand the center to every geo-political zones to ensure that all public servants are trained within their zones to reduce cost.

E-governance is part of digital economy and it is one of the eight pillars the ministry is working on in order to implement the digital economy policy and strategy for a digital Nigeria.

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Responding, the Chairman of the Committee and Director Generation, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa promised that that the Committee will work with the Minister to make a digital Nigeria a reality.

‘‘Capacity building is a key for digital economy as it is about knowledge based economy and we need to empower our citizens and public servants to key into the strategy,’’ he said.

Also speaking, the Co-Chairman CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar pledged that the Committee would discharge its duties assuring that it would also deliver on the terms of reference.

‘‘E-Government is a primary vehicle the digital economy and literacy rely on. Nigeria cannot be left behind in the E-revolution, must train Nigerians on how to use all the digital platforms,’’ he said.

Recall that the Government of the Republic of Korea had on Friday October 15, 2019 officially  handed over  the newly renovated and equipped e-Government training centre worth $1million for the training of public servants  in Nigeria.

In his Keynote speech, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami while expressing appreciation to the Government of Korea for the numerous efforts to improve the situation of governance in the country said the project was in line with the federal government’s plan to be in alignment with the global best practice and also to actualise its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP. He stated that without a doubt the centre will be used to train more public servants to actualise the e-Government Master Plan for Nigeria. ‘‘ICT is not about socialization. We need to change the perception of our youths in order to be beneficial to the economy’’, he said.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Country Director of Korea International Agency, KOICA, Nigeria Office, Mr. Woochan said the Korean government earmarked $8.56 million to support the development of e-Government in Nigeria since 2013, through various capacity building programs, establishment of an e-Government Training Centre and formulating the first (1st) e-Government Master Plan for Nigeria in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Public Service Institute of Nigeria and other major stakeholders.

In his goodwill message, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Nigeria, Maj. Gen. Lee In-tae (rtd.), said e-Government had contributed to Korea’s national development in terms of economic dynamics and political accountability. He expressed high hopes that the centre will be used for its purpose and the impact of the investment of the Korean Government would be felt in Nigeria.

Vanguard