.

By Bashir Bello, KANO

Secretary to the Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji on Tuesday said plans were underway to digitize the state civil service to provide online services to the public.

Alhaji who stated while declaring open a Stakeholders Engagement Program organized by National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in collaboration with the State Government, said the Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has directed his Senior Special Assistant on ICT and e-Governance in that direction.

The SSG said with the plan, the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would develop and maintain an interactive portal with facilities to provide online services to the public and that which will ensure effective, efficient, transparent and accountable service delivery in the state.

According to him, “The Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has directed his Senior Special Assistant on ICT and e-Governance to come up with a comprehensive plan, to propose a policy intervention in the form of a digital service strategy for the entire Civil Service.

“The policy concept rests on a vision, which envisages the development of a sound digital infrastructure that is pivotal to effective, efficient, transparent and accountable service delivery for improved quality of social and economic life for the citizenry.

“In this regard, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would develop and maintain interactive portal with facilities to provide online services to the public,” he said.

Alhaji further said that the state is working assiduously with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to bring more telecom infrastructure across the state citing instances with the ongoing Data centre construction is among others in the state.

“Information Technology, IT is an enabler for all the sectors of the economy and the telecom sector, to a very large extent, is a private sector-led industry, and what government does is to create an enabling environment. We have gotten from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the fact that there has been increasing investment in the sector. We are pursuing the use of the latest technology at a very affordable cost and improving the quality of services.

“This exciting technology drive continues to alter our perspective as we maximize the potentials of the telecoms and ICT, for reversing the recession and the economic growth of Nigeria. That is why this gathering is timely, commendable and of exceptional relevance to all of us seated here today.

“The role of telecoms in the developmental journey of an economy cannot be overemphasized, especially with the current trend of globalization and economic recession. Nigeria being part of the global village is not left out of this world development. We are experiencing the effects of telecom policy on the economic growth of this great nation and we are determined to move the industry to the next level.

“We are determined to make a change, to make our own contribution in a way that leveraging on ICTs will diversify our economy. We want to deploy ICTs in all the sectors in a very effective and efficient manner, so as to diversify our economy, in a sustainable manner. It is important we maximize the potential of the industry, otherwise, after some time, we will relapse to what the situation used to be and the problems would start again. But if we maximize and remain competitive, the economy will be strong to withstand shocks,” the Secretary of the State Government, Usman Alhaji however stated.

Earlier, NITDA Director-General, DG, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi said the aspiration of the agency is to become an organization closer to the stakeholders in order to achieve it mandates.

Abdullahi represented by the Director in charge of Zonal structures, Jide Ajayi however maintained that the stakeholder’s Engagement Program was to offer the stakeholders the opportunity to express their views and opinions on matters related to the Agency’s implementation of its mandate.

“Some of the people-oriented programs we have implemented in consultation with stakeholders and under the supervision of our parent Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy include, the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), the National Adopted Village for Smart Education (NAVSE), Digital Literacy Capacity Training for Persons Living with Disabilities, issuance of the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), support for ICT Innovation Hubs, the building of Community IT Centres, development of State IT policies and host of other activities.

“However, there is always the need to re-strategize in the face of new challenges and opportunities that the Digital Economy ecosystem provides. Therefore, the NITDA Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP), 2021-2024 has been conceived to provide direction for the organisation and a sound platform for mitigating the foreseen and unforeseen threats to the Digital Economy ecosystem,” Abdullahi however stated.

Vanguard News Nigeria