Tag: Isa Pantami

  • FG removes excise duty for telecoms services

    FG removes excise duty for telecoms services

    The Federal Government has announced the removal of excise duty for telecom sub-sector of Nigeria’s Digital Economy Industry in line with the recommendations of the Committee it constituted to review the applicability of the Duty to the telecom sector which is considered already overburdened with taxation and sundry levies.

    Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this on Tuesday at a press briefing organised to provide updates on the status of the 5 per cent excise duty, whose applicability to the telecom sector was objected by the Minister in August 2022, following which President Muhammadu Buhari suspended its application to the telecom sector and set up a Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in the Digital Economy Sector.

    Pantami, who is the Chairman of the Committee, specifically set up for the purpose of reviewing the proposed excise duty in the telecom sector, said the Committee had carried out its national assignment and accordingly submitted its report to the President, justifying why the sector should be exempted.

    The Minister said the Committee’s submissions can be summed up in three arguments put forward to justify why additional burden in form of taxes or any level should not be imposed on the telecom sector to prevent a reversal of the important contribution the sector is making to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

    “Our justifications are based on three premises: First, is the fact that operators in the telecoms sub-sector of the digital economy industry currently pay no fewer than 41 different categories of taxes, levies and charges; secondly, that telecoms has continued to be a major contributor to Nigerian economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product Contribution (GDP).

    “The third ground for contesting the Excise Duty in telecom sector is the fact that, despite increase in the cost of all factors of production across sector, and naturally leading to increase in costs of products and services, telecom sector is the only sector where cost of service has been stable and in many cases continued to go down over the past years and therefore, adding more burden will destroy the sector,” the Minister said.

    The Minister also informed the gathering that the President, having looked into the arguments put forward by the Committee and relying on the provision of the Section 5 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, as amended, has therefore, exempted telecom sector from the list of sectors to pay the excise duty as stated in Finance Act of 2021 and other subsidiary legislations, all of which are not as superior as the Constitution which permits the President to grant such waiver.

    Pantami said: “I am happy to report to you that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the exemption of the digital economy sector from the five percent excise duty to be paid and this is because of the strength of the argument presented to him by the Committee that additional burden on telecom sector will increase the sufferings of Nigerians and that other sectors that are not making as much contribution to the economy should be challenged to do more and pay the 5 per cent excise duty.”

    The Minister assured Nigerians, who are telecom consumers, that the presidential exemption given to the telecom sector shall be sustained by the incoming administration as “the decision by the President is not about any political party or any administration but about Nigeria and welfare of Nigerian citizens.”

    The Minister further noted that the Digital Economy Sector has continued to contribute significantly to the growth of the Nigerian economy, having contributed 14.07 per cent to the GDP in the first quarter of 2020; 17.79 per cent in the second quarter of 2021; and 18.44 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.

    He said the sector has also increased its quarterly revenue generation for government from N51 billion to over N480 billion, representing a growth of 594 per cent; while the cost of buying data has also reduced from N1,200 in 2019 to N350 presently, despite the increase in the cost of operations, including the energy challenge that has caused mobile network operators to power base stations with over 32,000 power generating to provide seamless services to their teeming consumers.

  • Telecoms, a humble review of a minister’s Scorecard – By Okoh Aihe

    Telecoms, a humble review of a minister’s Scorecard – By Okoh Aihe

    It would have been some whiff of good news last week for the telecommunications industry if evidence on ground did not advertise the contrary, overwhelmingly. It was the turn of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, to make his presentation at the 19th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Scorecard from 2015 to 2023 in Abuja. he seized the opportunity with both hands and spoke on sundry issues, some of them very contentious, to the goading approval of his host, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    Quite a lot of information came into the open from the excitable atmosphere of Pantami but Vanguard pinned my attention with a particular shouting headline:

    Scorecard: No plans to strip NCC of its powers – Pantami. From the Vanguard story, the minister got a welcoming opportunity to respond to some of the troubling issues in the industry and, with his love for the mocrophone, he didn’t disappoint at all.

    Politics is about immodesty in Nigeria. Achievements are secondary. And where there is a little to celebrate, the politician goes to the rooftop to shout to the rest of the world, to draw attention to his base achievements.

    Just by appearing at that Scorecard presentation, it wasn’t going to be easy for Pantami to whitewash the damage that has been done to the telecommunications industry within the period under review. The headline only seems to have captured his lack of understanding of public apprehension for the NITDA Bill which some of us have argued, took so much away from, or is committing acres of encroachment into the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. 

    After a failed attempt to give the Bill a subterranean shove to the status of an Act on December 23, last year, the Bill once again came up for Public Hearing at the National Assembly yesterday. There is perhaps a good reason the Bill is enjoying such urgent attention. It will be good for the lawmakers to furnish the public with comforting information in this respect. 

    It will be germane to attempt a historical recap so as to illuminate the minister’s understanding that the NITDA Amendment Bill is only the final straw designed to break the camel’s back, that is, if we find comfort in the agelong cliche. Before this time several coordinated attempts had been instituted to whittle down the independence and efficiency of the NCC. It is a perfect case of regulatory capture, the most blatant since the coming of democracy in 1999. 

    By way of putting a leg into the pool to test the waters, the minister moved his office from the secretariat in the heart of the Federal Capitial Territory (FCT) to a major property of the regulator at Jabi, from where he started to preside on who would take space in that building that had been designed for other purposes. A minister moving into the property of the regulator? It was unheard of. The Director General of  the Diaspora Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Elewa, who had been given a generous space by the NCC, was his first victim, ignominiously thrown out of the building.

    Second was the deracination of the Univseral Service Provision Fund from the NCC with the position of the head of the Fund, a Secretary, upgraded to an Executive Secretary and moved out of the NCC building to work directly with the minister at the Jabi office. Check Section 118 of the Act – The USP Secretariat shall reside in the Commission; and is funded in the main by a portion of the annual levies paid to the Commission by the operators. 

    The USPF is instituted by Section 114 of the Communications Act 2003 and is designed to promote widespread availability and usage of network services and applications of network services throughout Nigeria by encouraging the installation of network facilities and the provision for network services and applications services to institutions and in unserved, underserved areas or for underserved groups within the community. (Quite a winding one from Section 112 of the Act). 

    With USPF pocketed, the minister moved to shape the Board of the NCC by humbling great mind, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye out of office as Board chairman and replaced with his own yesterday man from NITDA. Senator Durojaiye would die not long after, perhaps out of disappointment. The conversation I had with him in his house in Lagos would remain between us forever, but I can tell you the adverse signs are all over the industry and they are not good. 

    Having shaped the board after his image and likeness, the minister stepped into the little details of the NCC, the day to day activities, industry meetings, and even staff promotion and press statements started to carry the imprimatur of the minister. The staff of the Commission who are old enough to have witnessed the glory days of the regulatory frontline agency are full of regrets. 

    The NCC has long been stripped of its powers and glory. Only the carcass is awaiting redemption that may come from the end of May, at the birth of a new administration.

    Speaking on the NCC and NITDA and what seems to be a rat swallowing up an elephant, in the case of NITDA gaining overwhelming powers over the NCC, Pantami explained that the old Acts did not address the fourth industrial revolution and emerging technologies.

    According to Pantami, “We are talking about Fouth Generation (4G) Technology and Fifth Generation (5G) Technology today as well as digital economy.

    “The NITDA Act was specifically on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, while the NCC Act dwells more on telecommunications.”

    The minister is not totally true. He is speaking about an industry where he enjoys no exclusive knowledge. There is nothing about emerging technologies and things happening in the telecommunications industry today that some people still at the NCC did not not know about 15 years ago. One beautiful thing about that organisation is its capacity to train its staff to any length, as long as they were willing to learn new things. That foundation for staff training was put in place by Engr Ernest Ndukwe, former Executive Vice Chairman, and Board Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Joda of blessed memory. 

    Plus the phantasmagoric revelation of 108 virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings receiving 66 cyber attacks that were foiled, Pantami also gave an update on the NIN/SIM verification policy which has been on since December 2020. From inception the policy was aimed at curbing insecurity which put a cloud of forlornness across the nation at the time and it still does now.

    Speaking nearly five months later when he was embroiled in some kind of security mess, Pantami reiterated his determination. “On the issue of NIN-SIM verification to fight insecurity, there is no going back. Our priority as a government based on the provision of our constitution 1999 (as amended) Secrion 14(2)b is security, not just economy. For sure no going back at all,” he said. 

    From his presentation the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), was able to capture NIN of over 95 million citizens on its  database within two years instead of the 39 million the agency had captured in 13 years.

    Let me add the other leg of the story. The total number of MSISDNs (telephone numbers) that have submitted NINs are 162.9million while the number of MSISDNs with NINs verified stands at 99.97 million. The mobile subscription figures in Nigeria as at December last year, stand at over 220million. It will take years to ever complete the verification process.

    Pantami tried to explain why the various security arms could not track criminals using the information details available in their SIM/NIN. Just like that. 

    A programme failed on its cardinal purpose, no apologies. Since the exercise began in 2020, there have been more killings in the country, more kidnappings and more unresolved criminalities. If he had given an update without talking about lives it would have been much better. The point is that people put their trust in the ability of their government to help secure their lives, and they have died.

    One thing is very clear to me. That verification policy was introduced in a hurry, without proper feasibility studies, no impact analysis done and was therefore projected to be completed in one month! After several extension of dates, and over two years later, the SIM/NIN verification is not half done. A little acknowledgment would have been more respectful to the people who lost loved ones. 

    A source at the Commission told this writer that “we are no longer doing regulation, we are just pursuing shadows.” I totally agree with that source. Such feelings of dejection and despondency and a resurgence of nostalgia have been foisted by the meddlesomeness of the minister. That is how much ground the telecommunications industry has lost. That is how diminished and discombobulated the regulator has become.

    Speaking in plain terms, the telecommunications industry needs help, real help.

  • Privacy Week: Nigeria’s data protection market value hits N5.5bn — Pantami

    Privacy Week: Nigeria’s data protection market value hits N5.5bn — Pantami

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami said that the market value of Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) in Nigeria has hit N5.5 billion.

    Pantami disclosed this at a press briefing to mark the commencement of the 2023 Global Data Privacy Week on Saturday in Abuja.

    The annual Data Privacy Day is with the theme: “Think Privacy First”.

    Pantami said: ”Data is critical to the country and it is a global best practice, otherwise it will be difficult to attract so many interventions and benefits to the country.”

    He said that data privacy was not only an enabling law but a constitutional right as long as citizens were innocent and law abiding.

    The minister said the NDPB had so many benefits through having the law in place and an authority to implement it on behalf of the country.

    Pantami said: “The NDPB has created many jobs that the value as at today amounts to N5.5 billion.

    “Today. it is a global best practice that you must have the law in place, otherwise you will find it difficult to attract so many interventions and benefits to your country.

    “Even potential investors these days ask questions whether you have data protection law covering your country or not.

    “If you do not have any data protection law in place, they feel uncomfortable coming into your country to invest because today data is critical.

    “We usually say data is the new oil but sometimes I even argue that data is water because water is a necessity for survival and data is a necessity for knowledge based economy survival.”

    According to him, there is no way a knowledge-based economy would be established without data.

    ”Water, when stored, could be used at any moment. The same with data,” he said.

    All these, Pantami said were why the MInistry came up with the proposal of having a full-fledged data protection institution and also a principal legislation of data protection relation in Nigeria.

    “The law about data protection is not in any way to punish our citizens, but rather to create awareness so that we will all be data compliant.

    “That is why it is important. We are urged to comply, and today because of awareness creation, reaching out to other institutions, sanctions and interrogating others, you will discover that the compliance rate is going higher,” Pantami said.

    The National Commissioner of NDPB, Dr Vincent Olatunji, said the aim of the privacy week was to sensitise people and disseminate privacy practices and principles across the society.

    Olatunji said that the commission, born out of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was to encourage everyone to own up to their responsibilities in order to bring about a culture of privacy.

    “It is a day that has been set aside to create awareness of fundamental rights and freedoms relating to the privacy of citizens in the data processing ecosystem.

    “As at today, we have sensitised over 50 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). We now have a circular that all must comply with the provisions of the law,” he said.

    Nigeria is the first African country to celebrate the international data privacy day alongside the developed countries.

    Recall that the NDPB bill was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for transmission to the National Assembly.

  • No plans to strip NCC of its powers – Pantami

    No plans to strip NCC of its powers – Pantami

    The Federal Government has no plans to strip the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) of its powers, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has said.

    Pantami said this on Thursday in his presentation at the 19th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Scorecard for 2015 to 2023 in Abuja.

    The event was organised by the Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture.

    Pantami said there was no iota of truth in insinuations that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), was designed to take over the powers of NCC.

    He said that both the NCC Act 2003 and NITDA Act 2007 were obsolete and long overdue for review due to imperatives of new technologies.

    According to him, old Acts did not address the fourth industrial revolution and emerging technologies.

    Pantami said: “We are talking about Fouth Generation (4G) Technology and Fifth Generation (5G) Technology today as well as digital economy.

    “The NITDA Act was specifically on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, while the NCC Act dwell more on telecommunications.

    “I had a meeting with the Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC and the Director-General of NITDA  and I directed them to work together.

    “And there was an agreement that both Acts needed to be amended.”

    The minister said that NITDA had over 30 stakeholders’ engagements were held, saying, “I am sure NCC was involved.

    “It is unfair that someone will say because I was once a Director-General of NITDA and therefore tilted towards it.”

    Pantami also said that he stood his ground for NIPOST over stamp duty issues and was threatened by the late Boko Haram leader.

    He said that the threats came, when the government insisted on the implementation of Subscribers Identity Modules (SIM) with the National Identity Numbers (NIN) linkage.

    “I protected NCC recently when an Agency took 42 billion belonging to it.  The higher authority asked the Agency to return the money to the NCC.”Pantami said.

    He said that what was being done regarding the amendments of the NITDA and NCC Acts were in the best interest of the country.

    Pantami said based on assessment of independent consultants engaged by the Federal Government, the Ministry scorecard stood at “A” in all the eight priority areas assigned to it by Buhari.

    According to him, broadband penetration as of November 2022 stood at 46. 2 per cent, as well as  quarterly revenue generation from the ICT sector at N408 billion.

    “Employment generation  in the digital economy sector alone covered 2.2 million Nigerians within the last three years.

    “The National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), was able to capture NIN of over 95 million citizens on its  database within two years.

    This, he said, increased compared to a figure of 39 million Nigerians captured by the same agency for 13 years.

    Pantami further said that through the implementation of the e-governance policy of the present administration,  over N47 billion  had been saved for the government.

    He also said that he inherited only one National Policy, but as at today, 19 National policies had been implemented by the ministry.

    Pantami said 18 Nigerian universities were being provided free unlimited broadband access and  20 Nigerian markets were also benefitting from such gestures free of charge.

    He said all the policies being implemented by this administration would be concluded before May 29 this year as President Buhari would also inaugurate the 12 billion naira National Centre for Digital Innovation in Abuja.

    He said challenges in the telecommunications industry were as a result of deficit in infrastructures and vandalisation of fibre optic cables.

    He said that in one particular year about 13,000 cases of vandalisation of fibre optic cables were recorded in different locations across the country.

    Pantami said the president should be commended by Nigerians for the far reaching policies implemented by his administration to change the narratives of the digital economy space and improve the living standards of the people.

    The NITDA bill is currently before the National Assembly for review.

  • Hackers make 66 attempts to compromise Nigeria’s FEC meeting

    Hackers make 66 attempts to compromise Nigeria’s FEC meeting

    Hackers from Europe made 66 attempts to compromise the virtual meetings of Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC); attempts that were foiled, according to the federal government.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami revealed this in Abuja at the 19th edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023).

    The scorecard series was organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture to showcase the achievements of the Buhari’s administration.

    Presenting the scorecards of his ministry, Pantami said since the unveiling of the National Policy on Virtual Engagements for Federal Public Institutions in October, 2020, not less than, 108 virtual FEC meetings had been held.

    He said from the 108 virtual FEC meetings held, 66 attacks to compromise the meetings were made from Europe but all were failed.

    The minister said all the cases were reported to the appropriate authorities for the record and actions.

    He recalled that the National Policy on Virtual Engagements was launched to formalise government online meetings such as FEC and Council of State meetings.

    The minister said that with the policy developed with the office of the Head of Service of the Federation, government’s virtual meetings could be held effectively and legally.

    He said the implementation of the virtual meetings had saved the country over N47 billion which could have been used if they were held physically.

    The minister also disclosed that in line with Buhari’s vision to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty, not less than 2.2 million jobs had been created in the digital sector in the past three years.

    He said the feat was achieved in the sector by the implementation of the Executive Orders signed by the President to priotise indigenous content as well as indigenous professional in the execution of national projects.

    Pantami said in the execution of jobs, planning and design of projects as well as appointments of key officials in the digital sector of the country priorities were given  to indigenous professionals.

    He said his ministry also priotised the execution of programmes and projects that could generate direct and indirect jobs.

  • Nigeria Data Protection Bureau hosts national privacy week

    Nigeria Data Protection Bureau hosts national privacy week

    Nigeria will on Saturday 28th of January 2023 join the international community to observe Global Data Privacy Day 2023.

    Global Data Privacy Day is a day set aside to create awareness of fundamental rights and freedoms relating to the privacy of citizens in the data processing ecosystem. 

    In line with the overarching global objective of awareness on data privacy, the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) will be organizing a National Privacy Week.

    It will be a week of intensive focus on awareness creation in the area of data subjects’ rights, capacity building on data governance, data breach remediation among others, according to NDPB.

    The Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, will flag-off the National Privacy Week with a press conference on the Global Data Privacy Day.

    The National Privacy Week also coincides with the one year anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau. 

    The NDPB under the leadership of Dr. Vincent Olatunji as its National Commission and CEO will set-up an Accelerated Data Breach Remediation unit to resolve petitions from data subjects within the National Privacy Week.

  • Nigeria hosts regional digital economy conference

    Nigeria hosts regional digital economy conference

    Policy makers and stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem in the West African sub-region will converge in Abuja from January 31 to 1srt February for the Digital Economy Regional Conference to discuss the future of digital economy and intensify regional public private partnerships for the region.

    The event is being hosted by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, in collaboration with the World Bank.

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who will deliver the keynote address at the event will be joined by his Federal Capital Territory (FCT) counterpart, Mohammed Bello, to welcome Ministers and top government officials from the subregion.

    The Conference, with the theme “Positioning West Africa’s Digital Economy for the Future”, will provide a platform for countries in the region to discuss issues that will strengthen the digital economies in West Africa and by extension the continent.

    The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy said the conference will also create an avenue for peer review to accelerate digital transformation and increase collaboration to secure partnerships within the region to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem while intensifying regional public-private partnerships for digital economy funding, research, and development.

    It is expected that the gathering will also provide an opportunity to showcase the progress made in the development of digital economy in the West African sub-region, identify winning strategies, discuss challenges, and prepare for the future in addition to creating awareness of the region’s needs in the areas of policies and framework for the digital economy and attracting private sponsors for digital transformation in the region.

  • President Buhari urges Nigerians to be responsible

    President Buhari urges Nigerians to be responsible

    President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians to hold themselves responsible for making the country economically and politically better.

    The President made the pronouncement at the closing ceremony of the National Qur’anic Recitation Competition, held in Gusau on Saturday.

    Buhari, represented by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isah Ali Pantami, said each citizens is responsible for bringing changes in the nation’s socio-economic and political problems.

    Although leaders had a greater role to play more then others, every Nigerian needs to act right to achieve a better society.

    The president also called on leaders at all levels to exhibit justice, fairness and kindness when dealing with their subjects, while the followers are to respect leaders and remain law-abiding citizens.

    He added if followers respect the rule of laws a better Nigeria would be achieved.

    He then commended the Sultanate Council and Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, for introducing and sustaining the Qur’anic Recitation Competition across the federation for the period of 37 years.

    And equally commended the Zamfara State Government and people of the state for according hospitality to the Young people of God that visited the state to participate in the competition.

    Also speaking the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, said the Sultanate Council will collaborate with Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, to ensure that thousands of reciters delve into further research and study of the Holly book.

    The Sultan added they should ponder more into Qur’anic study as a means of returning peace and stability to the country.

    In his remarks, the Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, thanked the National Committee of Musabaka for giving the state the opportunity to host the 37th session of the competition.

    He said his administration had given priority to the propagation and promotion of Islamic teaching through establishment of 11 Sharia Institutions in the state.

    Nura Abdullahi of Sokoto State emerged as overall winner and was crowned as hero of the year by the Sultanate, while Aishatu Abdulmutallib from Yobe won the female category and was crowned as hero of the year by the wife of the Zamfara state governor, Aisha Bello Matawalle.

  • BREAKING: Buhari appoints new Managing Director for NIGCOMSAT

    BREAKING: Buhari appoints new Managing Director for NIGCOMSAT

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Engineer Tukur Mohammed Lawal Funtua as the new Managing Director of Nigeria Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the appointment of Engineer Funtua as the new MD of NIGCOMSAT follows the retirement of the erstwhile Managing Director, Dr Abimbola Alale.

    Born on 24th November 1966, Funtua is an indigene of Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State, Northwest Nigeria.

    He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, PGDM, MBA, a Professional Diploma in Education and a PhD in Environmental and Sustainable Development Management in view, at the University of Port Harcourt.

    Before this appointment, he was Director, health community affairs, safety and environment with BUA Cement Plc, and has served in various capacities including Health and Safety Manager, Country HSE Manager and Regional Manager for Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development at Lafarge Africa Plc.

    He was also Group Head, Environment and Community Affairs at Dangote Cement Plc among others.

    According to a statement released by Uwa Suleiman (Mrs), Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, Funtua has thirty years of professional experience.

    According to the statement, his expertise is in manufacturing, process engineering, health, production, safety and environmental management, communications and various other fields, and he is also a Chartered Environmentalist at the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, and the Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute.

    Funtua is a Registered Engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), a member of numerous professional bodies and institutes. Engineer Tukur is an author and is married with children.

    TNG reports NIGCOMSAT falls under the purview of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.

  • 22 institutions, MSMEs set to enjoy N16.7b broadband access projects

    22 institutions, MSMEs set to enjoy N16.7b broadband access projects

    More than 22 institutions in the country, comprising 18 universities, and six polytechnics, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), drawn evenly from the six geopolitical zones in the country, have benefited from a Federal Government’s broadband infrastructure projects designed to accelerate the Nigeria Digital Economy efforts.

    At the unveiling of the projects being driven by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami,  who presided over the event, said the projects underscores the importance of broadband connectivity and access as central to the accomplishment of the targets of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 for a digital Nigeria, and that the project is in line with the mandates of President Muhammadu Buhari on job creation and economic diversification.

    Pantami, who was joined by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Mohammed Bello at the event, disclosed that the key infrastructure being provided for the project, comprise of broadband infrastructure for tertiary institutions of learning; broadband infrastructure for MSME; distribution of 6,000 e-pad tablets, in addition to provision of broadband connectivity to 20 markets as a pilot.

    He said the interest in supporting the MSMEs is justified by their current contribution of more than half of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) prior to COVID-19 outbreak, and now constitute 96.7 per cent of entire businesses in the country, and therefore, “any effort to develop our economy without bringing such important sector into the equation will amount to efforts in futility.”

    At the event, which had in attendance the Chairman of the Board of the NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande; the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta; the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed; and the Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof Idris Bugaje, a book authored by Pantami, titled “Skills Rather Than Just Degrees” with foreword written by Brad Smith, President of Microsoft Corporation, was unveiled for the industry.

    Pantami said the book is his intellectual contribution to bridging skills gap to enable Nigerians to tap into the opportunities that exist in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and other sectors of the economy.

    The book was reviewed by three different Vice Chancellors – Prof. Muhammad Abdulazeez of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Prof Owuanari Georgewill of University of Port Harcourt; and Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas of Bayero University Kano, who commended the efforts of the Minister in putting his thoughts and experience to paper. They recommended the book, which they commended highly.

    In their comments, NCC’s Akande and Danbatta, corroborated that the project will fast-track and enhance the ongoing efforts of the NCC’s to deepen connectivity towards achieving the targeted broadband penetration of 70 per cent by 2025.

    NCC’s Chairman, Prof. Akande, assured of the commitment of the Commission in completing the projects, which will add the necessary fillip to achieving the major objectives spelt out in the NDEPS, 2020-2030.

    The EVC of NCC, Prof. Danbatta, highlighted the Commission’s drive towards deepening broadband penetration in the country and the promotion of digital skills acquisition to improve service delivery in other sectors of the economy, including education, commerce, healthcare, agriculture, finance, transportation, governance, among others.

    The event attracted so many stakeholders especially from the academia, as well as technology enthusiasts, including prospective start-up companies, fintech organisations and other interested sectors whose activities are billed to be energized through diligent implementation of the NDEPS and other extant policies guiding the digital economy agenda of the Nigerian government.