Gerald Ilukwe, managing director/chief executive officer, Galaxy Backbone Limited, has stated that the company, as the ICT service provider of the Federal Government is a critical partner to the Ministry of Communication Technology for getting government services online. He made the assertion in Abuja at the launch of the Government Services Portal (www.services.gov.ng) by the Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson.
He said that “following several interactions between the Ministry and Galaxy Backbone it quickly became clear a key goal of the Minister was to get government online”. Ilukwe also noted that “Getting Government Online was not about providing internet access to Ministries, Departments and Agencies; rather it is about the electronic delivery of Government services to citizens and other stakeholders regardless of time and location”.
He reaffirmed that “Galaxy Backbone is not the owner or provider for any of the services on the Government Services portal. Those services continue to be owned and provided by the respective MDAs. Galaxy is just the technology enabler, providing a robust, secure and scalable platform through which these services can be provided or accessed”.
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According to him, the separation of roles between the policy/program coordinator, technology provider/enabler, and the online services owner/provider is critical to the success of the Getting Government Online program. He added that similar programs have failed in the past due confusion and overlapping around the roles just mentioned.
In her speech at the event, the Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson explained that the initiative was in line with the Ministry’s mandate to leverage ICTs to drive transparency and improve the quality of public service delivery. According to her, “The portal will improve efficiency in the delivery of government services to citizens and other stakeholders. The portal is one of the flagship projects of the Ministry aimed at enabling Nigerians access government services efficiently at the click of a button”
She added that, “Government portal project resonates with the outcome of the survey which the United Nations carried out across 48 countries on Innovative E-Government practices amongst nations. The result of the survey showed that citizen service delivery was topmost on the government innovative technology adoption all over the world”.
