The Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu has warned again that Nigeria will no longer tolerate any infraction of dumping or bringing into Nigeria outdated technology of any sort.
Speaking in his opening remarks on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2017 Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition, he said “Let me reiterate that Nigeria should no longer be a dumping ground for ICT products and services”.
He was however quick to hint that “the Ministry will support the establishment of companies or organizations in the areas of hardware and software by ensuring that they are protected through regulations or other means”.
“We will assist them to grow. We have accepted that Nigeria must take the leadership role in Africa’s ICT ecosystem. Therefore, we are amenable to PPP relationships to drive the Ministry’s projects; 2017 must be a year of action.
“It was part of government’s preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is predicted to happen globally in the very near future, that the Federal Government had conceived a national ICT Park and Exhibition Centre in the Federal Capital Territory.
Continuing, the Minister added that “The establishment of the centre will encourage investment in the ICT sector and complement the proposed University of ICT which will also produce the required skilled manpower for Africa to partake in the inevitable Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
“The ministry is committed to creating a platform – through Digital Africa, where organizations and startups can pitch their innovative ideas. These ideas will be passed through a structured selection process to come up with marketable innovations for implementation by the Federal Government.
The minister reiterated that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Communications is collaborating with the European Union Commission to create a Digital Single Market in Nigeria. “The size of Nigeria makes it the most lucrative investment destination in sub-Sahara Africa with a high return on investment and an emerging market that made it one of the new frontiers for investment and Digital Market consideration. This collaboration is timely and coming at a time the ministry is making concerted efforts to implement its ICT strategic roadmap, e-Government and Mobile Broadband Plan.
