PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said that the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), in governance has saved the country about N26.3 billion in the last three years.
President Buhari who disclosed this at the eNigeria 2018 Conference, expressed commitment towards promoting good governance, through exploring the huge role of Information Communication Technology.
The eNigeria is an annual Conference organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). This year’s Conference has the theme ‘Promoting Digital Economy in an Era of Disruptive Technologies Through Effective Regulations.’
According to him, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has helped to eliminate ghost workers from the system, which has aided the government to save about N27.7 billion in the last three years.
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“The enforcement of the use of the policy on Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the impact they have made on the administration’s public financial management reforms.
“In addition to the consolidation of accounts and elimination of ghost workers that resulted in a combined monthly savings of about N24.7 billion, the TSA facilitated the recovery of huge sums of money including the recent N1.6 billion from a single account. These policy initiatives reinforce this administration’s fight against corruption by ensuring transparency and accountability in government business transactions,” President Buhari said.
He further noted that the ICT sector has been playing a key role in developing the nation’s economy, he noted that in 2017, the sector contributed 10 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while this year, the sector’s contribution to the GDP increased to 11.81 per cent.
“This administration’s commitment towards delivering good governance and development to our people is as strong as ever, considering the huge role ICT is playing in the successes recorded in the past three and a half years.
“You may recall that in my address at last year’s event, I raised a number of issues relating to ICT’s role in fostering the digital economy in Nigeria, including: The sector’s contribution of about 10% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). I am pleased to note that this has been taken seriously and stakeholders’ efforts resulted in ICT emerging as one of the key performers of the second quarter of 2018 by recording 11.81% growth.
“We challenged the country’s reliance on foreign hardware resulting into the importation of about 80% of ICT hardware through local distributors of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) by MDAs and other government establishments. We stressed the need for concerted efforts aimed at reversing the trend.”
Furthermore, President Buhari stated “you may recall the issuance of Presidential Executive Order 003 mandating all ministries, departments and agencies to give preference to locally manufactured goods and services in their procurement of information technology services, in order to strengthen its implementation as well as provide clear policy directions.
“Presidential Executive Order 005 was also issued in February this year. This is part of the administration’s deliberate efforts and strong commitment at strengthening the role of Science, Technology and Innovation in the country’s socio-economic development.
“One particular note is NITDA’s initiative focus on the Registration of IT Contractors and Service Providers in collaboration with other regulatory bodies with a special emphasis on competencies. This will ensure the delivery of quality IT projects, as well as facilitate the development of indigenous IT companies in line with global best practices.
In his remarks, the Director General of NITDA, Dr Isa Pantami said “in the last 2 years we have redoubled our efforts in regulating and developing the ICT sector as we seek to be the prime catalyst for transforming Nigeria into an Information Technology (IT) driven economy. As part of these efforts, I led a team that developed a 2017-2020 Strategic Roadmap for the Agency as well as an Action Plan for the attainment of the goals listed in the Roadmap.”
He listed the pillars of the roadmap to include IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Cyber Security, and Local Content Development & Promotion.
“The Roadmap addresses 7 principal pillars that have the potential of determining the structure upon which a successful ICT sector can be built.
“Our aim has been to achieve these objectives of the strategic roadmap in a uniform, consistent and coordinated manner, to reposition NITDA to effectively regulate the Nigerian IT sector and deliver its statutory mandate.
“Foster local content, build IT capacity and create jobs to enable the development of a sustainable knowledge-based economy. Foster transparency and accountability in government through the use of IT for governance,” NITDA DG added.
The Minister of Communication, Barrister Adebayo Shittu said the impact of ICTs can be felt in virtually every area of human endeavour and countries are taking advantage of disruptive technologies to transform their economies.
“It is therefore expedient for us to position ourselves to be key players in the emerging digital economy. We have a number of initiatives that are part of our efforts to deepen the role of ICT in the development of our economy. These initiatives include the National ICT Policy, National Broadband Plan, National ICT Roadmap, National eGovernment MasterPlan, National Addressing System and Local Content Policy.
“Through these, we are fostering synergy and sustainable development in the ICT sector. For instance, we realize the critical role that broadband plays in the deployment of disruptive technologies and in ensuring that all strata of society enjoy the benefits of ICT.
“This informed our decision to develop a National Broadband Plan with aim of increasing the broadband penetration to 30%, up from a penetration of 10% in 2014. I am happy to inform you that we have been able to achieve a broadband penetration of 23% and we are not resting on our oars until we achieve our target,” the Minister said.
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