The Federal Executive Council, Nigeria’s highest decision making organ, yesterday approved the sum of N8.9billion to build an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park on a 4,200 square meter land in Abuja.
In a statement signed and distributed earlier today by Dr ‘Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the approval was subject to a memo presented by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami at the meeting, which was held virtually.
The statement disclosed that the Park will come with state-of-the-art and will accommodate the National ICT Exhibition Centre, as well as Museum for ICT and postal services, where technology-related innovations by Nigerians will be showcased.
According to the statement, the National ICT Park will be supported by the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (NDIEC) that was earlier presented by the Minister and approved by the FEC on the 11th of November, 2020 and whose groundbreaking was done recently by Dr Pantami.
All the parastatals of the Ministry will be involved in managing the National Centres.
The National ICT Park would be a focal point for the supervision of both public and private ICT hubs in the country. The Park will serve as a centre for National ICT Policy formulation, Research and Development. Through it, the Federal Government will provide the enabling environment for creative Nigerians to come up with innovative technologies.
The Park will have a number of benefits including boosting the digital economy, provision of space and environment for the growth of innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs), serving as an incubator for cutting-edge technology and a mentorship platform for innovators, amongst others. It will provide a central location for Nigerian innovators with vibrant and developmental ideas to receive mentorship and all that they need to thrive.