Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, at the weekend, in Gombe State said Nigeria’s March towards attaining 95 per cent digital literacy in 2030, as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy, Strategy (NDESP) 2020-2030 has become more promising than ever.
Pantami, who administered the graduation of participants at a two-week digital job creation training for the North East zone in Gombe State, which was facilitated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said: “We train citizens on digital skills because they are no longer considered a luxury, but necessity required in any business. In this age and time, if anyone desires to be successful he must acquire digital skills.”
He stressed that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was not just an independent sector, but the key enabler of all sectors of the economy, as almost every activity now depends on it, adding: “It enables opportunities in education in health, agriculture, security, defence, manufacturing, trade, investments and industry.”
He, therefore, urged the participants to adopt innovation-driven enterprises and use the opportunity offered by the training they have received to improve their socio-economic status and make the country a better place to live in.
“We have to utilise ICT to make our country a better place. We must use ICT even for our personal economic benefits, among other gains. Therefore, we encourage you not to waste your time online, but rather use the knowledge acquired to make Nigeria a better place and derive other economic benefits from it.”
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Pantami also pointed out that a report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the performance of each sector of the economy for which ICT contributed 18.44 per cent, as heartwarming, adding that it speaks to the prospects of the industry meeting expectations of its policies.
“So, by implication, we set records last year and we surpassed that record in the second quarter of 2022 without involving the digital services. Only the ICT sector contributed 18.44 per cent, which can be attributed to the policies we have introduced in the sector,” he stated.
He noted that the training, which had taken place in nine other states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, will be conducted in other geopolitical zones of the country.
The digital job creation training is a two-week programme targeted at youths, who desire to develop and enhance their ICT skills to promote and engender growth in the yet untapped and commercially viable sector globally.
Each participant at the training received starter packs comprising laptops with accessories, Wifi Internet modems with three month-data subscription and some cash.
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