(http://fmi.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Minister-of-Communication-Technology-Mrs-300x192.jpg) The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has reiterated the commitment of her Ministry to connect Nigeria and Nigerians through ICT. Towards this, she said, her Ministry has sped up the building of the communications infrastructure in almost every part of the country so that a lot of people can have access to good quality telecom services and high speed internet.
The Minister disclosed this while making her presentation at the 2013 ministerial platform organized by the Federal Ministry of Information for the chief executives of Ministries to give mid-term report of their activities. She said, in order to achieve her objective, the Ministry has ensured that Nigerians have affordable and reliable access to devices and have the capacity to use them; so that all Nigerians can share in the benefits of ICT.
She went further to inform that the Ministry has identified three major areas which are local content, ICT in government and provision of enabling environment for linking people with people and people with government. The aim, according to her, is to lower the barriers to entry and increase the participation of Nigerian companies in the ICT sector and stimulate job creation in the industry.
The Communication Minister also said that deploying ICT will through the three ways identified by her Ministry will increase the adoption of ICTs by government to achieve greater transparency, efficiency, and productivity in governance and citizens' engagement. Furthermore, it will provide a predictable and stable environment that supports the development of the ICT sector.
Omobola said, besides accelerating the extension of communications infrastructure to un-served and under-served areas, the accelerated mobile phone expansion (AMPE-BTS) programme is helping to deploy base stations in rural areas, hence a total of number of 54 base stations have been installed; 28 more, she said, are planned for 2013.
Apart from the above, she said the programme of rural broadband initiative (RUBI) has provided wholesale internet bandwidth to ISPs, cyber cafes, and ICT centres like community communication centres (CCC) in rural communities.
Meanwhile, of the 18 pilot sites selected, 12 are 95% completed and transmission testing is currently on-going in Akure and Osogbo; the Minister disclosed.
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Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria
The connection has not been there so far so we hope it happens soon. I feel things have to really change in the way we operate in Nigeria.