The newly appointed minister of communications, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has said that Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry which currently contributes 13.8 percent to nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will in the next two to three years, double the 8.8 percent contribution of the oil and gas sector to Nigeria’s GDP.
The minister who spoke on Monday at the ongoing session of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2019) in Budapest, Hungary disclosed this.
“The recent statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the future is indeed in ICT. This is a clear indication that at the pace ICT is growing in Nigeria, most probably in the next two or three years, the contribution of the ICT to the GDP will at least double that of the oil sector. This is a country that was relying so much on oil sector but they are not even neighbours now; the gap between the two is wide – eight and 13. The credit should however go to every stakeholder in the sector including, a driver,” the minister said.
As the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the yearly event, Pantami said that the government wanted to sustain the steady growth of ICT in the country, hence the need to attend events like the ITU telecom world, which will enable delegates network and get the best ideas.
“And when we return home we put all of them to work towards the development of our country,” he said.
The minister commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for successfully putting together Nigeria’s participation and told the delegates “to maximise the opportunity provided by the attendance by thinking global and acting local.
“I want to thank the NCC for organizing Nigeria’s participation to this very important event. The effort is highly commendable. We hope the tempo will be sustained.
“I’ve been saying it and I’ll repeat it again that the future of the world is in the ICT. It is a privilege to be part and parcel of this sector and at the same time to be with the stakeholders of the ICT in Nigeria,” Pantami said.
In his remarks, Umar Garba Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), told the minister that the Commission had this year decided not to erect a pavilion “which is consistent with the cost-saving measures of the Federal Government.”
Danbatta said: “The Ministry is aware of the cost-cutting measures we put in place to scale down the resources we deployed in hosting Nigeria at important international events. We have provided information on what agencies under ministry of communication are busy doing to grow the ICT sector in Nigeria.”
The delegation included Eniola Olaitan Ajayi, Nigerian ambassador to Hungary; Olabiyi Durojaiye; chairman, NCC Board; Ahmad Joda, former chairman, NCC Board; Kashifulnuwa Ibrahim, director-general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Clem Baiye, NCC commissioner, among others.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
