THE Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has extolled Mrs Kofo Akinkugbe, the Chief Executive Officer of SecureID, Africa’s leading manufacturer of smart cards, as the company bagged a Global System of Mobile Associations (GSMA) certificate last week.
Pantami, who was represented at the event by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, said Akinkugbe has set a precedent for other Nigerians.
According to him, this would mark the first time a Nigerian is meeting the requirements to receive this certification in the whole of Africa, and the third facility on the continent.
He said: “I am very happy and on behalf of the Minister, congratulate this company. It was a delight to learn that an indigenous company has been certified by the Global System of Mobile Associations (GSMA). This is a momentous milestone indeed”.
The Minister, went on to urge Nigerians to patronise the company’s products, which have evidently met the same international standards like their counterparts abroad.
“We must patronise our own products, especially when they are produced to meet the same international standards, which counterparts abroad comply with. I think this bears eloquent testimony to the high standards that they operate at, which in itself is worthy of emulation”, he added.
On her part, Akinkugbe explained that she invested a lot of resources and manpower to attain the certification, a feat which has since been met with a flurry of praises.
Commending the quest of honours, she said: “We are very happy to have the Honourable Minister Isa Patani, represented by the Executive vice chairman of the NCC, Danbatta join us as we record this significant milestone and also as we launch our digital solutions.
“With the tour around the factory, I think people have seen for themselves that local production of smart cards at the highest quality is possible in Nigeria.
“They were very impressed with what they saw and we took them round, intimated them with the quality protocols and also emphasised the importance of the GSMA certification.
“Furthermore, we took them to the subsidiary of the company called SID Digital to look at the several digital solutions we proffer in our portfolio.”
“We are very pleased that this is a local company that will continue to uphold and espouse high quality standards. We will continue to show that in Nigeria, certain things are possible, and we are able to provide jobs for people.
“We basically focus on payment solutions and we also have electronic solutions for the company, targeted at the public sector as well.
“The government has seen it, and the volume of value and growth that we are able to contribute is something we would showcase and further prove that this can be done locally,” she said.
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