Nosa Alekhuogie
The federal government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has commenced a pioneer programme to train members of Kano Executive Council on e-Governance and Digital Transformation.
As part of its fulfillment to enable the development of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), the programme was initiated to give special training to the top government officials in the state on modern technology adoption, in order to improve their performances at all levels while delivering services to the general public.
The Two- day event which kicked-off recently, was attended by the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, his Deputy, Nasiru Gawuna, and other members of the Executive Council of the state.
In his address, the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje thanked the federal government, particularly the ministry for bringing various initiatives, including training of over 1000 youths on digital skills and other supports provided in the state.
The governor also commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami for matching words with action, adding that the e-governance training is as a result of his visit to the Communications and Digital Economy Complex in Abuja where he initiated talks on the possible collaboration and partnership with the ministry to foster Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development in Kano State.
He said his government was committed towards the realisation of ICT policy in the state.
According to him, ICT has been a critical element to governance, and his administration is making all efforts to ensure that the state taps on the immense benefit of e-Governace and digital technologies by simplifying government operations as well as limiting government spending.
He said: “It is imperative we apply the new system being used anywhere in the world, because the old system of government would not move the state forward.”
Pantami, while delivering his keynote address, noted that the training is the first of its kind in Nigeria at the state level, and there cannot be a better place to start than Kano State.
According to him, the state remained the most populous state in Nigeria and the commercial nerve centre of Northern Nigeria.
Pantami explained that the commencement of the programme makes Kano State Executive Council Members the first beneficiaries, which at the end, Kano will be well positioned to develop a strong digital economy, and have a transformational impact on the state and the nation at large.
He said in light of global trends in the delivery of government services which is increasingly being characterised by the digitisation of processes, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy developed the Nigerian e-Government Master Plan (Ne-GMP) with the vision ‘to create a world class, open and digitised government that connects with people to drive efficiency in public administration, responsiveness of civil services and transparency in governance leading to improvement of the quality of life of Nigerians.’
“This is in line with the Ministry’s mandate to Utilise ICT to drive transparency in governance and improve
the quality and cost effectiveness of public service delivery in Nigeria. The Plan was developed with specific strategies that will improve the quality of citizen’s lives by enhancing national competitiveness, facilitating market economy, promoting participatory democracy, and improving transparency in the public sector,” Pantami said.
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the training programme would be a milestone to the Kano State digital economy journey and that a lot could be achieved together, especially in e-governance and digital transformation.
