Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has said Nigeria’s march towards attaining 95 percent digital literacy in 2030, as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020 – 2030, now looks more promising than ever.
Pantami, who disclosed this at the graduation of participants at the two-week digital Job creation training for the North-East in Gombe, facilitated by the Nigerian Communications Commission, said “the reason we train citizens is that digital skills are no longer considered a luxury, but necessities required in any business you do. If you want to be successful, you need to have digital skills.’’
The Digital Job Creation Training is a two-week programme targeted at youth desirous of developing and enhancing their ICT skills in order to promote and enhance growth in the yet untapped and commercially viable digital economy both locally and globally.
According to the minister, ICT is not just an independent sector but the key enabler of all other sectors today as it enables opportunities in education, health, agriculture, security, defence, manufacturing, trade, investment and in industry.
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He, therefore, urged the participants to adopt innovation-driven enterprises and to utilize the training they have received to improve their economic status and make Nigeria a better place.
“We have to utilize ICT in order to make our country a better place. We must use ICT even for our personal economic benefits among others. Therefore, we want to encourage you not to waste your time online but rather to use the knowledge you have acquired to make Nigeria a better place and at the same time, derive many economic benefits from it,” he said.
The Minister highlighted the recent reports of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, about the performance of each sector of the economy, which indicated an unprecedented ICT contribution of 18.44 percent to the economy, as very heart-warming about the prospects of the industry meeting with the expectations of the relevant policies.
“So, by implication, we set a record last year and we surpassed that record this second quarter of 2022 without involving the digital services. Only the ICT sector contributed 18.44 percent, which can be attributed to the policies which we have introduced in the sector,” he said.
Similarly, he noted that the training which has taken place in nine other states, including the Federal Capital Territory, will be conducted throughout the remaining geopolitical zones.
Meanwhile, each participant at the training received starter packs including a laptop with accessories, MiFi Modem with three months data subscription, and some money.
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