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Tag: ICT

  • Osinbajo for ICT summit

    Osinbajo for ICT summit

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will deliver the keynote address at the First Summit of Information and Communications Technology professionals onApril 13 at the Olusegun Obasanjo Space Centre, Abuja.

    Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu and his Science and Technology counterpart, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, will host the three-day event.

    A statement  by the National President of the Nigeria Information Technology Professional in Civil and Public Service, (NITPCS), Mr Raphael Omosola, said delegates from the 36 states, FCT and 774 councils would attend.

    “Technology in Government Summit/Expo is Nigeria’s largest technology event bringing together  government functionaries, leaders, IT professionals: Executive, Legislature and Judiciary; industry partners, exhibitors and stakeholders”, said the statement.

    Omosola said : “This summit is part of IT professionals in government strategic actions to back the President Muhammadu Buahri “Change Agenda” and support governments . This year’s  theme is Information Technology: The Enabling  and Veritable Tool To Deliver “Change” in governance.

    “It combines a high level summit with large scale exhibition, bringing together senior public sector leaders, technology leaders, IT professionals and experts to “learn, connect and solve”.

    ‘’We are also providing the Expo Hall platform to both local and foreign companies, a great opportunity for them to meet with us – IT professionals across governments to showcase their tested and proven public sector-focused technologies and solutions to support the modernisation within government and President Buhari “Change Agenda”.

    ‘’The Expo Hall will also feature thought leadership industry-sponsored exclusive seminars to enable industry partners to comprehensively engage with government’s IT professionals.

    “Technology companies expected include: Zinox Technologies, Omatek, Main One, Huawei, Resourcery, Precise Financial Services, NIRA, Programos, Swift Networks, Spectranet, Smiles, Microsoft, Vodacom, Sidmach Technologies, Dell, HP, Oracle, IBM, EMC2 , Dimension Data, etc, as well as the Telcos – Ntel, Glo, MTN, Airtel, Etisalat, VisaPhone.

    ‘’Also government entities Galaxy Backbone, NITDA  and CPN will be exhibiting with Nigeria Computer Society. Raffle draws with prizes to be won are  powered by the industry exhibitors with valuable Networking.”

  • Fed Govt, ICT firms partner to create jobs

    Information Communication Technology (ICT) firms such as Airtel, Asus, Tecno, RLG, Intel, Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft, HP, and financial services provider, Diamond Bank, have partnered with the Federal Government to explore ways to create more jobs in the ICT sector.

    Speaking at a forum organised at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos with Driving Economic Growth and Employment in Nigeria through ICT as its theme, Senior Special Adviser to the President on Job creation and Youth Employment, Afolabi Imoukhuede urged the companies to create avenues for manufacturing products in the country, rather than assembling alone. He also urged the youths to build their skills to enable them become employable in an increasingly competitive job market.

    “Our industries are not catching up as fast as our population growth. We want to help our youths create jobs or enterprise. We have about eight to 10 million Nigerian youths out of job and it is not because there are no jobs; we have to deal with employability skills; technology plays the enabling role to achieve this. We must increase and deepen our internet penetration. We need to go beyond just assembling, we want more backward integration,” he said.

    An official of Diamond Bank pledged the support of the initiative, promising that it will continue to provide financial platforms for businesses to grow and for schools to train pupils in the use of technology.

    The companies urged Nigerians to partner with them as they collaborate to achieve a desired economy.

    Intel Regional President for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Mrs Cigdem Ertem said the companies have come together to create a technology ecosystem that would create jobs and boost entrepreneur in the country.

    She said: “We are focusing on economic growth and development in Nigeria. Technology is the foundation to do anything in the world now, including advancing in global competition, growing businesses among others. People need technology to better their lives. We are talking about how we are going to achieve economic growth and grow employment in Nigeria through technology.”

    Mrs Ertem reiterated Intel’s commitment to making computers and internet more accessible and affordable to the population.

    She said the company is currently training 100, 000 teachers in ICT and expanding its ‘She will connect’ programme from its current reach of 800, 000 women in Africa being empowered in ICT, to five million.

  • NCC to deploy more broadband facilities for e-voting

    NCC to deploy more broadband facilities for e-voting

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is thinking towards the idea of introducing electronic voting in subsequent general elections in the country.

    The electoral body INEC noted that the idea, which was yet to get the backing of law could take the electoral process to a higher level.

    This is as the Nigerian Communications (NCC) said it was planning to deploy more broadband facilities that would crate necessary environment for the adoption of electronic voting processes in the country.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC stated this Wednesday at the 12th public lecture of The Electoral Institute (TEI), INEC, with the theme of the lecture was “ICT and Electronic Voting: Issues and Challenges”.

    Danbatta said that the NCC was planning to deploy broadband facilities, in virtually all major cities and rural areas of the country.

    The NCC Vice Chairman said that the action was in-line with the country’s National Broadband Plan.

    He said that e-voting would not only improve on the efficacy and the confidence in the Nigeria’s electoral process but would also translate into free, fair and credible elections.

    Danbatta observed that the existing paper ballot system of voting was ‘susceptible to human errors and influences.’

    This according to him led INEC to the use of ICT platforms for biometric registration and authentication prior to voting during the 2015 election, “which significantly improved the democratic process.”

    “However, during these elections, card readers generally failed to verify fingerprints. This is attributed to the ICT platforms.

    “To address this from our part, the NCC, We have rolled out eight points agenda. Significant is the provision of efficient/effective access to ICT platforms.

    “These include facilitating Broadband Penetration; Improving Quality of Service and; Promoting ICT Innovation and investment Opportunities.

    ”The need to foster methods that will address problems in our voting system has led TEI to explore e-voting which depends on ICT platforms for its operations,” Danbatta said.

    He said that the next general elections of the country would depend heavily on the infrastructure that NCC was putting in place.

    He added that the infrastructure needed to support the adoption of electronic voting in Nigeria was at “formatic stage.”

    “That is why government is interested in deploying more and more infrastructure, including improving on what we have on ground.”

    Speaking, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said it was commendable that African countries were adopting the use of technology to improve on their electoral processes.

    Yakubu was represented by a National Commissioner of INEC, Hajia Amina Zakari, said this had reduced the level of tension and crisis in their elections.

    “The use of technology had made elections more acceptable and reduced post election conflicts.

    “However, if you are not careful in the use of technology, the process can be truncated.

    “So we need to come to middle class and that called for a lecture like this to share experiences of other countries where ICT has been deployed successfully to improve on electoral processes.”

    Yakubu was optimistic that the lecture would add value to the country’s electoral process.

     

  • Expert advises SMEs owners on ICT

    Expert advises SMEs owners on ICT

    Consultant, Teleios Consulting, Adeola Kayode has urged small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) owners to establish online arms to grow their businesses.

    He spoke during the launch of his book, Digital Epidemic, in Lagos at the weekend.

    Kayode, also Principal, Teleios Online Marketing Academy (TOMA), stressed the need for small businesses to increase their  investment in technology, adding that they are operating at a time   online subsidiaries are crucial to their survival.

    According to him, digitalisation is helping  businesses to grow rapidly, noting that Nigerians are become active online consumers. With digital technologies having an impact on all businesses, he said, SMEs can’t afford to ignore the opportunities the internet can offer.

    For small and medium sized businesses, he said a digital presence could empower firms to find new markets, sell more products, and increase revenue.

    He said it was vital that organisations use the digital tools at their disposal to ensure they are able to take advantage of growth opportunities. The growth of e-commerce, he noted, leaves SMEs with little option but to invest in online technologies, such as SEO optimisation, Google adwords, among others, to attract more customers online.

    He said SMEs should focus on creating their brand identity and uniqueness that can differentiate them from others to showcase in the market.

    He emphasised the need for the Startups and SMEs to pursue ‘digital marketing’ and position themselves as thought leaders in their space.

    His book looks at companies doing the best marketing campaigns and how they use digital elements to deliver scale.

    Brand Activation Specialist at Google Nigeria, Lanre Aina stressed the need for brands to brush up digital marketing  skills to deliver effective ads in the marketplace.

    The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) President, Kelechi Nwosu, said with digital marketing campaigns, dramatic changes in advertising as well as marketing have been observed.

    He noted, however, that digital marketing have become important options with regards to reaching a wider audience.

    According to him, social media have created useful marketing options to businesses.

    He urged business owners to take advantage of the book as it provides useful information that can help them achieve success with online advertising, tools of digital marketing.

  • ICT can replace oil, says Google

    Nigeria has the potential to use Information Communication Technology (ICT), to restore what has been lost in the oil sector, Google’s Policy and Government Relations Manager, Mrs Titi Akinsanmi has said.

    She said Nigeria has a vibrant technology sector which has lots of opportunities to tap into.

    “We have vibrant ICT companies including the big known companies like Jumia and Konga and the young companies that develop apps that make a difference in the way people live their lives,” she said.

    She noted that applications built around chats and games have huge investment prospects as oil revenues fall.

    She said a research carried out about two years ago on the impact of the internet on the economy showed that ICT sector already contributes at least three per cent GDP in Nigeria.

    “If we can have three per cent contribution from the ICT sector in our GDP where there is no focus in the sector, it means if we focus more on the sector the GDP will increase,” she said.

    She said part of what Google has been doing over the last five years in the country is to work with a range of partners to develop the ICT ecosystem. “We also work with institutions within government; we work with media and the education sectors to enable people contribute to the technology sector. We at Google know that if people have the access and the funds, they will use our products and that is what we are really after, because we are here to make profit in our business,” she said.

    She said there are many opportunities in the ICT sector, including the opportunity to become small multimedia size business online, developing apps for Android operating systems and developing apps around maps.

    She called for training to develop the ICT sector, saying there is a lot of work to be done in that area, adding that if people do not have the skills, they will not be able to take advantage of the opportunities around them.

  • Forex policy stifling ICT development, says Spectranet chief

    The foreign exchange (forex) policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken its toll on the information communications technology (ICT) sector.

    It has not only stifled efforts to expand capacity but has turned operators into debtors as they cannot get dollars to pay for equipment imported into the country, the Chief Executive Officer, Spectranet, David Venn said yesterday in Lagos.

    Speaking with ICT reporters in what the firm tagged: Town Hall Meeting, he lamented that the policy has put spanners in the wheel of the plans of entrepreneurs who depend on imported equipment such as Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) to offer high quality services to customers in the country.

    Spectranet is a firm that offers high speed internet services, using the latest technology which is 4G.

    He said the major challenge with the dollar drought is that the technology firm has the cash in naira but cannot get dollar to buy to pay for goods and services. According to him, international bandwidth requisite for the delivery of super fast broadband internet services and equipment are sourced from outside the country in dollars, lamenting that the forex squeeze has disorganised the capacity expansion plans of the firm.

  • ICT’ll rescue economy, says minister

    ICT’ll rescue economy, says minister

    Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu said in Ibadan on Sunday that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will rescue the country from economic doldrums.

    He said: “Eritrea, Uganda, and Rwanda are making progress in ICT, may be because they do not have petrol. I think our petrol became a bane for us and it has affected our progress. I have met with the ambassador of Rwanda and he told me a lot on how to use ICT to turn our economy around. We shall make use of their achievements to build our own.

    “The challenge is real now because what Nigeria is realising before on crude oil has reduced by over 70 per cent, petrol has failed us, agriculture will take a much longer time to mature, and that is why I have always argued that ICT is the way alternative we can bank on to improve our economy.”

    He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would make ICT lucrative.

    “ICT is one thing that affects every Nigerian, because of 178 million Nigerians, 150 million have keyed into it. So if you make facilities of communication easier for them, the more they become interested, obsessed, the more it will make money for the country,” he said.

     

  • TETFund spends N100bn on ICT in varsities, polytechnics

    TETFund spends N100bn on ICT in varsities, polytechnics

    The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund)  claimed it has spent over N100billion on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure in tertiary institutions in the last two years.

    Its Executive Secretary, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, said the amount was part of an exclusive intervention for ICT in some institutions as well as ICT- related interventions in other institutions.

    He spoke in Abuja last week when he received a team of CISCO, an international ICT firm led by its Corporate Affairs for Africa Manager, Alfie Hamid.

    He said: “I could give a figure because I know how many institutions we allocated exclusively ICT intervention projects.

    “But ICT goes beyond exclusively ICT ones, even the libraries. Remember we have ICT components and some virtual libraries in this country.

    “As I reflected, something is telling me that the least we could have spent on ICT in direct exclusive ICT and ICT related facilities are N100billion over the last two years.”

     

    CISCO expressed its willingness to expose about 5000 Nigerian students in eleven tertiary institutions to Smart technology.

    Hamid said Nigeria cannot not afford to lag behind in the development of Smart Technology.

    He said: “It will be opened to ICT and engineering students in the universities. So the5000 is a very conservative number because that number can be in the range of7000 to 10,000 students.”

    The tertiary institutions to benefit from the technology include Federal Polytechnic, Oko; Delta State University; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Anambra State Polytechnic; Federal Polytechnic, Nekede; Kebbi State University of Science and Technology and Sokoto State Polytechnic.

    Others are College of Education, Warri; Federal Polytechnic, Yola; Esa Oke College of Education and Bauchi State University.

  • FG to generate 2million jobs from ICT- Minister

    FG to generate 2million jobs from ICT- Minister

    The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, has said that the Federal Government will create two million jobs from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.  He said investors from China would be investing 15 billion dollars in the sector.

    He spoke at the maiden Nigeria Communications retreat organized by the Federal Ministry of Communications, at International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan on Friday.

    He said: “Information and Communication Technology today creates more jobs than oil and gas and that can further be enjoyed, as investors from China would be investing N15 billion dollars in the ICT sector in Nigeria. So, potential two million jobs will be made available through investments in the sector,” he said.

    The minister also disclosed that 550 post offices in different Local Government Areas in the country would soon start engaging in financial services like internet services, call services apart from the traditional letter posting.

    “The time has now come to fully embrace ICT to enhance our lives, to enhance transparency and good governance if we are to really fulfill the “change” mantra that Nigerians voted President Muhammadu Buhari to bring about,” he said.

    Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, in his address  urged stakeholders in the sector to evolve new ways that will take Nigeria out of the doldrums and re-launch its economy.

    The governor observed that ICT was useful in virtually all aspects of human life, especially now that crude oil price was experiencing a free fall in the international market, thus impacting negatively on the nation’s economy.

    Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics, Ajimobi said that ICT was a major contributor to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with 8.68 per cent, adding that the country was the largest ICT user in Africa, with over 94 million internet users.

    Besides, he noted that ICT had created over 12 million jobs in the country in the last two years, stressing that it could create even more if necessary frameworks were put in place.

    The governor, who cited the examples of United States of America, China and some Asian countries which, he said, had used ICT to re-launch their economies, pointed out that the time had come for Nigeria to transit from an agrarian economy to a knowledge-based one, with ICT serving as the driver.

    “I like to call on all stakeholders to come together to device a realistic blueprint for growth and improvement in employment rate.  America, China and many other Asian countries have used ICT to re-launch their countries and their economy,’’ he said.

    He called on participants at the retreat to develop realistic strategies on how to use ICT, which he described as an imaginative and innovative sector, to create employment or to convert youths to employment generators.

    “We are in the era of change. Ours is a government of change. Let us all come together to make ICT a change agent,’’ the governor said.

    He added that this could be achieved by encouraging Nigerians through regular enlightenment on the benefits of information technology, as well as by fashioning out appropriate legal framework by the National Assembly to develop ICT.

    Ajimobi also called for the repositioning of Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST), rather than crippling it, by aligning it with global development in ICT.

    In his presentation, the Rwandan Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Kamanzi Stanislas, spoke on the evolution of ICT in his country since 2001, saying that his country had benefitted immensely from information technology.

    He said that ICT had been applied in local transportation, automated passenger clearance system at airports, government command centre, robust electronic citizen registry, holding meetings without borders, running a paperless government, as well as offering all government services online.

    He called for collaboration between Nigeria and Rwanda on ICT in order to improve on the bilateral relations and the economy of both countries.

    In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Mr. Sonny Echono, said the essence of the retreat was to brainstorm on the development of the ICT sector which, he said, had generic effects on other sectors.

  • ‘ICT can boost employment’

    Chairman, Ondo State Scholarship Board, Mr Jeffrey Abidoye, has said the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) could check youth unemployment in the country.

    Abidoye, who spoke at the yearly public lecture of the Federation of Igbotako Students’ Union (FISU), in Okitipupa Local Government Area, advocated an emphasis on the teaching of ICT in the curriculum of primary and secondary schools so as to expose young ones to ICT application at an early age.

    Speaking on the theme: ‘The impact of ICT on youth development, Abidoye said youths talented in the use of ICT have been able to get employed.

    He added that ICT can help the youth to maintain culture, gain knowledge, develop skills and most importantly generate income.

    The leadership trainer, however, condemned the negative use of ICT by some youths to get rich quickly.

    He urged government to tackle the security challenges in the country so as to provide a safe business environment that would encourage both local and foreign investors to invest in ICT.

    The National President, FISU, ‘Yomi Ayeleso, said the theme was chosen to examine issues that were central to youth development.

    He said ICT is one of the avenues through which youths can become self reliant and strategise for the future.