A new road-map for the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector will seek to create 2.5 million jobs and boost broadband penetration in Africa’s largest economy to 30 percent by 2020, according to Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications.
The four-year plan, approved by the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday, also targets to increase the sector’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product to 20 percent. ICT currently accounts for a little above 10 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and was listed as one of the vehicles that will drive the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government.
“The road map is essentially is a framework for development of ICT in Nigeria and the aim is to ensure the creation of 2.5 million jobs between now and year 2020 and bolster broadband penetration to all parts of the country, such that by the year 2020 we will have penetration level of 30 per cent,” Shittu told newsmen at the Post FEC briefing at the State House, Abuja.
“This policy when properly implemented will contribute to growing the Nigerian economy such that even with government revenue it could increase the GDP to about 20 per cent by 2020” Shittu added.
Nigeria is in its second year of an economic recession after a decline in oil prices and production slashed government revenues, while power and fuel shortages crimped economic activity. Unemployment rose to a six-year high of 14.2 percent in the first three months of 2017, according to public data agency, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Meanwhile, part of the ICT roadmap also includes the establishment of an ICT university which the minister says will provide opportunities for intelligent and innovative youths at the local level to learn more.
“As at today, many of our graduates are ill-equipped for the ICT industry even in Nigeria not to talk of exporting their services to other African countries. What a lot of our people do after graduating from the universities is to go to India to equip themselves better to get all the skills that they will require for this new sector of technology.
“So, we feel that instead of our people having to go India, having to go to South Korea and all of that, let’s create a specialised environment in Nigeria where people can train both Nigerians and people from overseas” the minister said.
He added that ICT will also contribute in making businesses easy and service delivery easy because of the e-government component of it and because of the e-commerce component of ICT roadmap.
Council also considered and approved a memorandum from the Federal Ministry of Health to centrally co-ordinate, place and fund the placement of house officers in accredited institutions across the country.
The new programme will be centrally co-ordinated by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria with effect from 2018.
“By this singular act, the sufferings of thousands of Nigerian young doctors will be put to an end” the health minister said.
The Attorney General of the Federation also told newsmen that council approved the ratification of the various treaties signed by Nigeria.
Nigeria is a signatory to intellectual property of organisations of copyrights treaty – the world treaty, Beijing treaty and Marrakech treaty. All these treaties are intended to provide protection to our creators, musicians, audio visuals as far as the copyrights of their productions are concerned, Malami said adding that following a memo he submitted to council “the council has given the approval and so the ratification of the treaties has been granted by the council”.
Meanwhile, cabinet meeting presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo observed a minute silence for the former minister of health, Babatunde Osotimehin who until his death was the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
ELIZABETH ARCHIBONG
