By Jessica Dogo

The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Muhammad Abubakar has commended the pace at which public leadership was changing and developing in Nigeria and the African continent.

Abubakar gave the commendation at the International Studies of Public Leadership and Public Service organised by the African Centre for Resource Studies (ACRS), which held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The theme of the annual submit was: “Unbroken Legacy of Public Leadership and Service: “The Case of Nigeria 2015-2023 and other Countries in Transition”.

He said that the gathering was to explore evidence -based, theoretical ideas , principles and practices of public leadership and public service worldwide and spread them to African countries, while building capacities.

The Galaxy Backbone’s Head of Media, Mr Tasiu Pantami, made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Abubakar, represented by the Chief of Staff, GBB, Mr Owaicho Igoji said before the partitioning and colonisation of Africa, there existed cultural and leadership attributes that guided and drove development of the continent at its pace.

The MD spoke on the topic: “The Practice of Public Leadership and Decision-Making in Public Service”: ‘The Decision and Reform Initiatives’ (A Guide to Future Generations).

He further said that the partitioning and colonisation led to the tremendous changes that were being witnessed in the continent.

Abubakar commended the ACRS for the initiative, which seeks to focus on providing a guide to future generations through a series of lecture series for of the future generation of young leaders across Africa.

He said: “I am excited to identify with the great work being done by this body of intellectuals in your journey towards enhancing public leadership and governance

“I am deeply drawn by your vision to see the whole of Africa develop the use of its resources and potential to fight poverty and create opportunities for sustainable development.”

Abubakar assured that GBB would continue to support the institute to ensure the attainment of its goals, adding that it was created to provide Information and Communications Technology infrastructure for its citizenry.

“GBB, riding on its mandate of providing ICT, today plays a critical role in ensuring the digital transformation of the nation and in the improvement of economic prosperity,” Abubakar said.

Meanwhile, a Member of House of People’s Representatives, Ethiopia, Mr Almaw Mengist, had a paper presentation on public leadership and public service in Africa, a case of Ethiopia.

He said in spite of the call for privatisation of government services such as water supply, telecommunications, and power supply, these services were still state-owned in Ethiopia.

According to him, in this phase of civil service reform particularly a retrenchment programme was implemented in 1993, duplicative positions were reduced in public administration to achieve efficiency.

He said that the public sector services were not improved much because Ethiopia had a small civil service apparatus as it was with approximately civil servants per 1,000 inhabitants as compared to other African countries.

Mengist said lack of institutional capacity, institutional incompetency and poor structural set up of institutions had limited the scope, speed and quality of the reform implementation. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Olasunkanmi Onifade

Nigeria Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited is collaborating with Hydropolis Free Trade Zone with the view to exploring areas of business interest.
This is contained in a statement signed by the General Manager , Corporate Affairs and Special Project of NIGCOMSAT, Dr Adamu Idris on Sunday in Abuja.
He said the management of Hydropolis Free Trade Zone, a subsidiary of Mainstream Energy Solutions planned to generate a world-class business hub in the country.
“The Free Trade Zone sits on more than 2000 hectares of land, located at Amfani, in New Bussa Local Government Area of Niger, after the famous Kainji Dam.
” It is expected to accommodate a smart city, cargo airport, car race (Formula 1) race track, etc.,” Idris said.
He said the proposed collaboration with NIGCOMSAT Ltd was for the deployment of full broadband services for the proposed smart city.
The Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Mr Tukur Lawal, expressed its readiness to provide the necessary services needed for the city.
He described the gesture as the ‘Game Changer’ for NIGCOMSAT Ltd.
Lawal said that with such massive project, NIGCOMSAT doors were opened for discussions on areas of mutual benefits.
Earlier, the Managing Director, Hydropolis Free Trade Zone, Dr Abdulmalik Ndagi, said that the visit was to seek collaborations for internet broadband services for the smart city.
“NIGCOMSAT Ltd has requested for a formal proposal which Hydropolis agreed to provide before setting a technical committee to discuss the takeoff of business transaction.
” Hydropolis has also invited NIGCOMSAT Ltd to visit the project site in due course,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannewd.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Sylvester Thompson

Dr John Omimakinde, Director- General of National Centre for Technology Management, (NACETEM), said with Science, Technology and Innovations (STI), Nigeria can transform from over dependence on oil revenue to a diversified economy.

Omimakinde said this at the 2023 STI Expo in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said that, if the STI sector was well harnessed, it would be a panacea to a strongly diversified Nigeria economy.

” For decades, scholars, policy makers, academics and practitioners have been engaged in heated debates that Nigeria’s development challenge is the ‘oil curse’.

“It is believed that the bane of development is the over dependence on a mono-product, crude oil.

“Recent happenings in the country have shown that Nigeria’s major development challenge is not the ‘oil curse’, but of not achieving economic diversification beyond it’s dependence on oil revenue,” Omimakinde said.

The NACETEM D-G confirmed that successive governments had looked beyond oil by shifting their attention to areas such as agriculture and the informal sector, among others, which yielded substantial results.

Omimakinde acknowledged that actualising the objective of successfully diversifying Nigeria’s economy beyond what was presently operational required looking in the direction of STI.

“NACETEM as a foremost knowledge support and policy research institution is convinced that the current STI policy can put us in the right direction.

“All we need to achieve sustainable development and diversification of Nigeria’s economy is contained therein, but it appears we have not fully deployed it appropriately.

“This has to change as implementing the STI policy as reviewed in 2022 will set Nigeria on the path of wealth,” he said.

Mrs Monilola Udoh, Permanent Secretary of the STI Ministry, assured that President Muhammadu Buhari had reaffirmed his commitment to his pledge allocating 0.5 per cent of GDP to funding research and innovations.

She said the Federal Government was actually funding researches which are domiciled in the ministry.

Udoh decried the lack of synergy among research institutes and others.

She also said: ”There were duplications of research works being carried out,” and urged for adequate communications, collaborations and cooperation among government agencies for value addition.

Mr Haastrup Olatunji, Chairman of NACETEM Governing Board, corroborated that Nigeria ran a mono-cultural economy as 85 per cent of her revenue was derived from oil and gas export.

He said: ”Naysayers may see that as not being good because of perceived neglect of other sectors of the economy.

“It is important to stress that lamenting the situation will bring us no good

“Rather, thinking through how to better the lot of Nigeria is what we require.

“STI is relevant to all sectors of the economy, it is an enabler of rapid growth and development,”Olatunji said.(NAN)(www.nanews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Sylvester Thompson

Mrs Monilola Udoh, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation(STI), has urged investors to invest and help commercialise a pencil produced Projects Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu.

The Permanent Secretary spoke at the ongoing 2023 Techno expo in Abuja on Wednesday.

She said PRODA was breaking grounds in research and innovation with a typical example of producing pencils that Nigeria imports.

“We need to come together and support PRODA to take the technology to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.

” If we produce enough pencils for all our children, we don’t need another market because the market is right here.

” Nigeria is the most blessed county in the world, let’s come together and do the right thing and it will be well with all of us,” she said.

Dr Peter Ogbobe, Director-General of PRODA, said that it had been established that STI was the only way out for the growth and stability of Nigeria.

He said that the institute remained one of the leading research institute in the country since its creation in 1971.

Ogbobe said: ”PRODA’s numerous achievements were consciously or unconsciously geared towards the diversification of the economy.”

According to the D-G, PRODA’s engagement in innumerable demand-driven researches over the last 40 years had led to innovative breakthroughs and left tremendous impact on diverse sectors of the economy.

He said this was through agro-allied, construction, chemical, energy, metallurgical, electrical/electronic, automative and ceramics, among others, which are ready for commercialisation.

Ogbobe listed some of these research breakthroughs to include: Design and production of Soya bean flour processing flow line, design and production of plantain flour processing flow line.

He mentioned design and production of PRODA school pencil, design and production of pin and shackle Electrical Porcelain Insulator, which is relevant to the energy sector.

He also spoke about design and production of Ceramic multi-Biomas cooking stove for domestic purpose and other alternative sources of cooking.

The D-G listed various other research breakthroughs that were ready for commercialisatiion as well as collaborations and linkages PRODA has.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Jessica Dogo

The Federal Government has approved the establishment of dedicated Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Swap Centres across the 744 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

This decision was reached on Wednesday at the 4th review meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on the National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM registration in Abuja, presided over by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami.

Pantami tasked the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which was working with NIMC and mobile network operators (MNOs), to urgently come up with a framework for the establishment of the Centres in the 774 LGAs of the country.

The Minister said that the framework for the establishment must begin with critical and feasible locations.

The statement was jointly signed by Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Mr Kayode Adegoke, Head, Corporate Communications, Nigeria Identify Management Commission (NIMC).

The meeting also approved the extension of tenure for National Identity Number (NIN) registration by MNOs.

The statement added that the government also extended the enrolment licence tenure of NIN Enrolment Agent Licensees for MNOs from 1 to 5 years in consideration of their satisfactory performance, subject to continuous monitoring.

“The Technical Committee was mandated to complete the development of a new SIM issuance strategy that cannot be compromised.

“This will ensure that there is no repeat of the past process that was compromised through pre-registration by some agents,’’ it said.

According to him, approval has been given to MNOs for the establishment of dedicated SIM Swap Centres across the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria;

“A Multi-Sectoral Ad hoc committee was tasked to immediately complete the review of the processes for new SIM activations for legal residents staying in Nigeria for less than 24 months.

“The membership of the Committee was drawn from NCC, NIMC, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).”

He said MNOs that had Service Centres in important locations in LGAs were expected to upgrade these centres to a level where they could qualify as SIM Swap Centres in order to reduce the challenges associated with the SIM swap process for citizens.

Adinde explained that the purpose was to bring SIM Swap Centres closer to Nigerians regardless of their location.

The Minister expressed appreciation to Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the government’s directive on the exercise.

He informed that President Muhammadu Buhari was briefed on the activities of the Ministerial Task Force.

He said that President Buhari commended the achievement recorded so far and urged the Minister and other stakeholders to maintain the tempo.

The Minister also appreciated Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise, which had many benefits to the country and its citizens.

He pledged government’s commitment to continually take decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.

The Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, briefed the meeting on the outcome of the Senate Investigative Hearing on 5G Deployment in Nigeria.

Danbatta extolled the minister for making an eloquent presentation to dispel fears about the public health and security implications of 5G, as well as making a case for this new technology in the country.

“All stakeholders agreed on the need for the country to deploy 5G technology,” he said.

They included the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); DG/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC); and DG/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The membership of the Committee was drawn from NCC, NIMC, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Others members were the NCC Executive Commissioners for Technical Services and Stakeholder Management; MDs/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the COO of Glo. (NAN)

By Jessica Dogo

Dr Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy is delighted that the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has recorded the highest growth rate of all sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Pantami said this was based on the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020) and the entire year 2020 report on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Minister, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

According to him, the NBS Nigeria’s GDP grew by 0.11 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing the first positive quarterly growth in the last three quarters.

“This indicates that we have strongly exited recession. In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 94.13 per cent to the nation’s GDP in Q4 2020 as opposed to the 5.87 per cent contributed to total real GDP by the oil sector.

“It is noteworthy that the ICT sector grew by 14.70 per cent  in Q4 2020, making it the fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy in the last quarter and the only sector to have grown by double digits.

“The ICT sector grew at a rate more than four  times the Agriculture sector, which was the next fastest growing sector of Q4 2020, with a growth rate of 3.42 per cent.

“The ICT sector also maintained its rapid growth rate in the overall year 2020 assessment, growing at 12.90 per cent, or over three times the Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation sector, which was next fastest growing sector of 2020 with a growth rate of 3.81 per cent.”

The minister said that the ICT sector was the only sector with a double digit growth rate.

Furthermore, he said that the telecommunications sector recorded a growth rate of 15.90 per cent,  its highest growth rate in the last 10 years, and this performance was unprecedented.

Pantami said  the giant strides recorded in the ICT sector were a direct result of the focused and committed effort of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“The strategic policy directions of the Federal Government include the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan amongst others.

“The GDP report has shown that the ICT sector is a catalyst for the diversification and growth of our economy.

He, however, urged all sectors to take advantage of the government’s new focus on the digital economy to enable and improve their processes through the use of ICT.

The minister congratulated all stakeholders of the ICT sector and urged them to continue supporting the government’s policies, as this would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP. (NAN)