By Kester Omu
The Federal Government has announced plans to partner Huawei Technologies, a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company, to create Smart Cities in Nigeria.
Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu made the announcement in Abuja at the 2-day Multi-stakeholders International Summit, which was sponsored by Huawei, in collaboration with Smart Cities Nigeria.
According to Shittu, the idea of Smart Cities would promote open data, helps to manage government resources and ultimately helps to get more revenue for the government. “We want to encourage competition among States and Local governments, the Ministry of Communications would soon launch the Smart City competition in partnership with Huawei. This is to encourage the government at all levels to take a bolder step in the adoption of digital technology,” he said.
Also commenting, the President of Huawei Technologies Nigeria, Frank Li, noted that the development and widespread application of digital technologies had transformed lives in a profound way, adding that data flow and economic development have become the big trends of our time.
“Digital economy is a new form of economy in which everyone can share. We are ready to work with the Nigerian government to create cities where digital technologies are widely applied, revolutionizing the whole economic environment and activities,” he assured.