Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has emphasised the need for governments at all levels and individuals to prioritise digital access for economic benefits and development.
He spoke at a one day workshop organised by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in Abuja on yesterday.
Pantami advised governments and individuals to take serious the issue of prioritising digital access and skills; saying they were needed for development and economic growth.
“Digital access and connectivity have become a necessity, as they play an increasingly vital role in our everyday lives and have become key drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“This reiterates the fact that digital connectivity, access, and skills are no longer a luxury, but have become a necessity for human and economic development in both developed and developing countries.
“It is therefore important that governments, individuals and communities prioritise affordable access digital technologies.
“To achieve this, there is need to promote universal access to digital infrastructure, enhance digital skills and address affordability and this is what we have done in Nigeria.
“For Nigeria, as part of our efforts to adequately position Nigerians as major participants in the growing global digital economy, we developed the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria,” he said
Pantami noted that one of the implementation strategies of the Solid Infrastructure Pillar was the development of a Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP)..
The Plan is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90 per cent of the population by 2025, and the availability of 1GB of data at no more than 2 per cent of average monthly income.
“As a result of these, we had an unprecedented growth is broadband penetration and a significant reduction in the cost of broadband access- broadband penetration has gone up from just a little over 30% to 44.32%, as at June 2022, while the cost of 1GB of data has crashed from N1,200 to N344.48,” the Minister said.
The implementation of the Plan, he pointed out, will accelerate the penetration of affordable and quality broadband connectivity, thereby increasing digital access in Nigeria.
He also said that government recognised the enormity of the task of closing the digital access gaps, adding: “The federal government understands that enormous private sector support, as well as support from international organisations, are essential to enable us realise our lofty goals for Nigeria’s digital economy and this has informed our decision to partner with key international organisations like the ITU and FCDO.”
According to him, lack of access is as a result of challenges such as the cost of connectivity, lack of digitally skilled citizens and inadequate infrastructure, amongst others.
The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Danbatta, in his welcome address said that the commission has programmes and policies in place which have positively impacted on the sector.
According to him, the Commission has reduced the 200 clusters where there are digital access gaps to 114, leading to the attendant reduction of more than 40 million Nigerians without access to telecommunications or internet services.to about 10 million.
