The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has hailed the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) for the foresight in organizing the National Dialogue on Telecoms and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sectors event in collaboration with other industry stakeholders.
While re-emphasizing the resolve of the Federal Government, through the Ministry, to continually advance the digital economy agenda of the country, the Minister described the event with the overarching theme: ‘Harnessing the Digital Resources for the Building of Our National Economy’ and sub-themes lined up for discussions, as apt and timely, given the increased reliance of individuals and businesses on digital platforms to carry out their activities.
Dr. Pantami, who was represented by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, also noted the digital economy journey started by the Ministry, following the President’s approval in 2019, culminated in the development of an eight-pillar National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) with a view to providing a more coordinated and enhanced national policy direction for transforming Nigeria’s economy into a truly digital economy.
He said that NDEPS is a policy document that addresses different aspects of development that require attention in order to have a vibrant digital economy, adding that, like Nigeria, most nations are prioritising the need to develop their digital economies because of the multiplier effect on all other sectors of the economy.
The Minister noted some of the challenges of the digital economy to include rapid evolution of technology and widening inequalities between the digital “haves” and “haves-not”; need for new regulations; cybercrime and other threats; low level of digital literacy; and the need for infrastructure.
Meanwile, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, while speaking in his capacity at the second panel session on the theme: “National Funding and Investment Strategy for Broadband Infrastructure and Digital Economy”, highlighted what the Commission had done in the last five years, especially in stimulating the development of resilient ICT infrastructure and the benefits these regulatory efforts have brought to the economy.
Situating his presentation in the context of ‘Nigeria’s Telecom Sector: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,’ Danbatta explained that access gaps in the country have been reduced from 217 in 2015 to 114.
“We have licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos); we have introduced innovative policies such as spectrum trading and spectrum farming; broadband penetration has increased from 6 percent to 43.3 per cent in the last five years. Also, from 8 per cent in 2015, the telecoms sector contributed over 14 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as in the second quarter of 2020, valued at N2.3 trillion,” Danbatta said