President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said the Federal government( FG) is saving N20bn and N4.7 billion monthly through the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and the Integrated Personnel and Pay System (IPPS), respectively.
The President who made this assertion while declaring e-Nigeria 2017 Conference open in Abuja, said ICT has a critical role to play on the economy. The federal government, he noted, would utilise the instrumentality of the Executive Orders 003 signed by his administration to ensure full compliance of Federal government agencies in patronising locally made ICT products and services.
The President also pointed out that Federal Government’s reforms through the instrumentality of National ICT Policy by encouraging local content participation is already yielding fruits with the sector currently contributing over 10% contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.
The sector has contributed over 10% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Buhari, therefore, affirmed the federal government’s determination in ensuring that the contribution in the ICT sector grows stronger as a means of job creation for Nigeria’s teeming youths and also making Nigeria the ICT hub of Africa.
“The theme of the conference ‘Fostering Digital Economy through Local Content Development and Effective Regulations’ is apt and is coming at a time Nigeria is determined to diversify its economy. ICT has a role to play in this diversification efforts,” he said.
Currently, nearly every sector of the economy leverage on ICT to enhance productivity. Nevertheless, 80% of ICT hardware purchases are still imported.
President Buhari said this will make it difficult for Nigeria to reap the full benefits of creating employment for our teeming youths through the use of ICT, and even increasing government revenue
There must be a collaboration of the public and private sector in realising our full potentials in the ICT sector, as I challenge you to ensure your resolutions make Nigeria, the ICT hub of Africa, he said.
In his submissions, the Minister of ICT Adebayo Shittu said ICT deployment in Nigeria is growing at a high rate and has impacted positively on the GDP contribution of over 10% which used to be less than 5% a few years ago.
He said the Ministry of Communication has issued a circular directing all the relevant government agencies on the importance of patronising locally made ICT products and services.
Also speaking, the Director-general of National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA said the theme for the conference is chosen to deepen the federal government’s transformation to a digital economy.
According to him, “The Visits of Mack Zuckerberg and Konga.com to Nigeria and various collaborations of the federal government is geared towards providing the needed platform for our teeming youths and cracking down the unemployment rate in the country, which is on the rise”
“In compliance with the recent Executive Order and support for Local Content in procurement by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government’s of Nigeria signed by the Federal government, the agency has embarked on strengthening its strategy to foster patronage of indigenous IT products and services. The strategy focuses on two tracks: make Nigeria IT products viable, and promote local content first policy in IT procurement by MDAs.”
