The federal government in collaboration with the Ekiti state government has engaged stakeholders in the state’s digital ecosystem on the proposed national digital economy and e-governance bill.
The engagement organized by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, held in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital on Thursday had government officials, legislative aides, tech enthusiasts, digital marketers, students and others in attendance.
The permanent secretary of the state’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Digital Economy, Ayodele Adeyanju commended the federal government for proposing the bill and engaging stakeholders in the state, noting that the proposal when passed would contribute to the nation’s economy.
He added that the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji is passionate about taking advantage of the potential in the digital world to enhance the socio-economic development of the state.
Adeyanju who hailed the contributions of the commissioner, Seun Fakuade since the creation of the ministry, assured stakeholders that the state is committed to implementing policies and programmes that would make Ekiti a digital hub of Nigeria.
According to him, ” The essence of this gathering today(Thursday ) is for us to rub minds and get the people’s views on the proposed bills so that at the end of the day, no aspect of the stakeholders will be left out.
“There will be help various institutions to fully go digital and put everyone under one umbrella and ensure there is enough security put in place to ensure all data being shared digitally are adequately protected and of course enough sanctions when there are infractions.
“You know at times, when you have issues like in the banking sectors, the bill will help people to know their rights and what to do.”
A member of the Ekiti state House of Assembly, Idowu Odebunmi who expressed optimism in the bill to help the nation harness the potential in the digital space, said the lawmakers were committed to embracing it for economy growth and seamless activities.
Represented by one of his legislative aides, Ojo Oluwaseun, the lawmaker noted that the passage of the bill would change the narratives in the running of government activities and programmes with the embrace of digitalized system.
Speaking, a consultant and lawyer from the Duale, Ovia and Alex Adedipe firm, Abdulrasheed Badmus said the essence of the proposed bill is to drive economic growth through digital technology, improve public service delivery, and create a competitive environment for the Nigerian digital economy.
Badmus said the engagement with the stakeholders would enable the government to expose them to the benefits in the proposed legislation and allay their fears on the threat in the digital space.
One of the participants Excellent Victor, said the passage of the bill is long overdue for the country to tap into the growing potential in the digital and technology space across the world for economic growth.
” Our country is a growing nation and there is always a room for us to put in place a legal framework that will guide our usage and deployment of the digital system,” he said.
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