Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the country will continue to give attention and priority to the digital economy sector, having made significant progress since the expansion of the Ministry.
The President gave the assurance last week in Abuja at the launch of the national policy for the promotion of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecommunications sector and revised the national digital identity policy for SIM card registration.
According to him, since the expansion of the mandate of the Ministry of Communications to include the digital economy, the Information and Communications Technology sector became the fastest growing sector in both the fourth quarter of 2020 and the entire year 2020, based on the report by the National Bureau of Statistics.
“The Digital Economy sector has made significant progress and recorded a number of unprecedented achievements. Thus, we must give it priority support. We are also pleased with the way that the digital economy sector provided online options for activities that were hitherto restricted to offline channels. In addition to minimising the disruption to activities of both the public and private sectors, it also reduced the cost of such meetings and improved their efficiency,” he said.
He noted that the sector’s 14.70% double-digit growth rate played a principal role in supporting Nigeria’s exit from the recession, which he believes was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The growth rate of the sector exceeded 4 times the next fastest-growing sector of Q4 2020, ICT Sector which had a growth rate of 3.42%. This is truly commendable,” he added.
The National Policy for Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector is in line with the government’s commitment towards ensuring that Nigerians become active participants in the different sectors of the economy, including the telecommunications sector.
Also, the launch of the Revised National Digital Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration is intended to support Nigeria’s efforts to enhance security and develop the economy. The National Identification Number is the foundational digital ID for the country; both Nigerian citizens and legal residents are expected to obtain the NIN. It will provide access to government services and will give the government useful insights that will enable us to utilise scarce resources a more efficient way.