ICT boosts GDP by 12% in second quarter

Information Communications Technology (ICT) contributed 11.81 per cent to Nigeria’s economic growth in the second quarter of this year, President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed yesterday. The figure was 1.81 per cent above the 2017 statistics.

He observed that government’s patronage of local distributors of hardware and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) was impressive as ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) imported about 80 per cent of the product through the vendors.

Buhari, who was speaking yesterday at the 2018 e-Nigeria International Conference¬ and Exhibition organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja, described the theme of the event, Promoting Digital Economy in an Era of Disruptive Technologies Through Effective Regulations, as apt.

The president clarified that Executive Orders 003 ¬and 005 were to boost deliverables from¬ the sector.His words: “This administration’s commitment towards delivering good governance and development to our people is much stronger than before, considering the huge role of I¬CT in the successes recorded in the past¬ three and half years.

“You may recall that in my address at last year’s event, I raised a number of is¬sues relating to ICT’s role in fostering¬ the digital economy in Nigeria, including the sector’s contribution of about 10¬ per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product¬ (GDP) and the need for efforts to be ma¬de in enhancing this, especially in our drive at diversifying the economy.”

He went on: “I am pleased to note that this has been¬ taken seriously and stakeholders’ efforts resulted in ICT emerging as one of the key performers in the second quarter o¬f 2018 by recording 11.81 per cent growth.”

In his keynote lecture on The Role of Disruptive Technologies i¬n Curtailing Corruption, pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, said though there had been modest achievements in the anti-graft war in the country, he, nonetheless, pointed out that most of the illicit financial crimes were aided by information technology.