Government targets citizens’ participation in ICT

The Federal Government has promised to create opportunities for citizens’ participation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) training, knowledge and skills acquisition, as well as general application and its usage to solve problems, promote well-being and enhance national growth.

Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, who stated this at the 2016 Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) summit in Abuja, noted that in this era of e-government and digital inclusion, the present administration would work towards a more connected government and a digital Nigerian society.

The SGF pointed out that the global quest for ICT for development is enormous to both developed and developing countries because ICT skills are critical to the success of enhancing national development in a globalised era.

“I am aware that Galaxy Backbone Ltd, established in 2006 as a government owned company and charged to deliver connectivity and other ICT infrastructure to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government, currently has up to 350 MDAs connected to its 1-GOV.Net in over 4000 office locations nationwide making it the largest single network ever developed in the public sector in Africa.

It is even more noteworthy that Galaxy Backbone’s 1-GOV.NET initiative – a common network infrastructure platform – was benchmarked with global best practices and the company emerged in the 2013 United Nations Public Service Award as 1st place winner for promoting whole-of-government approaches in the Information Age” for its 1-GOV.NET initiative. The award was a validation of Galaxy’s vision to be the leading enabler of digital inclusion in Nigeria and Africa”, he stated.

Lawal noted that with the dwindling revenue from oil and gas, the government has realized more than ever before that telecommunications and ICT are amongst the main drivers for the social and economic development of Nigeria and play a vital role in enhancing access to basic services in all sectors of our national life.

He observed that with a significant percentage of the Nigeria’s population having access to mobile cellular services, the increasing and sustained growth in Internet usage and broadband deployment, the government through the Ministry of Communications and its various SMART initiatives are focused on leveraging ICTs to create an inclusive economy.