Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, today renamed the Ministry of Communications to Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
This was disclosed in a statement issued and signed by Philomena Oshodin, Deputy Director Press & Public Relations at the Ministry.
According to a statement, the name change will properly position and empower the Ministry to fulfill his Digital Economy objectives, and will further expand its mandate to capture the goals of digitalization of the Nigerian economy in line with the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP), one of the key agenda of the present administration.
The statement quoted the Minister of the Ministry, Dr. Isa Pantami as saying the former name was not only limited in pursuing the objectives of a digital economy but obsolete as it did not reflect the trends as emphasized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Dr. Pantami cited examples of global and African economies like Scotland, Thailand, Tunisia, Benin Republic and Burkina Faso among others who have adopted deliberate strategies and created Ministries of Digital Economy in line with global best practice, and especially the European Union which has a commissioner for Digital Economy.
In a letter containing his approval, the President noted that the request is in line with global best practice which will further reflect the priorities of his administration. The approved name has been announced and adopted by the Federal Executive Council today, 23rd October 2019.