The Honourable Minister of Communications and
Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami on Thursday hosted President
Muhammadu Buhari GCFR during the launch and commissioning of landmark
achievements attained by the Ministry under his watch; guided by the blueprint
of the Next Level agenda and the mandate of the rebirth Federal Ministry of Communications
and Digital Economy.
The official engagements
performed by President Buhari include;
1. Launched and
unveiled the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020 – 2025;
2. Commissioned
the Communications and Digital Economy Complex;
3. Commissioned
the Abuja Emergency Communication Center and
National Emergency Toll – Free Number 112 and
4. Flagged off
the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training.
In his welcome
address, the Honourable Minister highlighted that the programs and projects are
in-line with the priorities of the Federal Government as assigned to the
Ministry for implementation.
Dr. Pantami said
“A digital economy is heavily reliant on the availability of cost-effective
broadband. Amongst other things, this Plan aims to provide broadband for 90% of
Nigerians over the next 5 years, at download rates of 25Mbps in urban areas and
10Mbps in rural areas. The Plan also aims for a maximum price of N390/GB of
data”.
Adding that
“According to a Report by Ericsson titled "How Important Are Mobile
Broadband Networks for Global Economic Development”, 10% increase in mobile
broadband penetration results in approximately 0.6% to 2.8% rise in the gross
domestic product (GDP).
Excerpt is the full text of the Speech of the
Honourable Minister:
All Protocols
duly observed.
May Peace, Mercy
and Blessings be upon you!
I count it a
privilege and a great honour to welcome His Excellency, President Muhammadu
Buhari, GCFR, and our distinguished guests to this epoch-making event. Today,
His Excellency will be commissioning several important programmes that act as
signposts to our commitment to transform the digital landscape of our country
by developing the National Digital Economy.
The following
programmes are being commissioned or unveiled, as the case may be:
Launching and
Unveiling of the National Broadband Plan (2020-2025);
Commissioning of the Emergency Communications Centre & Toll-Free Number
‘112’;
Flag-off of the
Digital Nigeria Programme (Nigerian Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Training); and
Commissioning of the Communications & Digital Economy Complex.
These programmes
are in line with the revised mandate of the Ministry as a result of its
redesignation as the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy by
Mr President on the 17th of October 2019. The development of the National
Digital Economy is anchored on the following 8 pillars:
Developmental
Regulation;
Digital Literacy & Skills;
Solid Infrastructure;
Service Infrastructure;
Digital Services Development & Promotion;
Soft Infrastructure;
Digital Society & Emerging Technologies; and
Indigenous Content Development & Adoption.
The programmes
also align with a number of the priorities of the Federal Government that were
assigned to the Ministry for implementation. Furthermore, they also support the
3 key areas of focus of Mr President, namely economic development,
anti-corruption and security.
1. Launching and
Unveiling of the National Broadband Plan (2020-2025)
On assumption of office on the 21st of August, 2019, I realised that our
country was without any active Broadband Plan, as the previous 2013-2018 Plan
expired the previous year. Under the directives of Mr President, we inaugurated
a team of experts to develop a new plan on the 16th of December, 2019. The team
was Chaired by Funke Opeke. The Committee worked tirelessly to produce the Plan
which will be launched and unveiled today.
I use this
opportunity to thank the Chairman and members of the Committee for their
patriotism, professionalism and high level of commitment. I also wish to convey
our gratitude to the United Kingdom High Commission for their partnership and
technical support. We would also like to thank all the development partners and
institutions that gave valuable input to the Committee.
A digital economy
is heavily reliant on the availability of cost-effective broadband. Amongst
other things, this Plan aims to provide broadband for 90% of Nigerians over the
next 5 years, at download rates of 25Mbps in urban areas and 10Mbps in rural
areas. The Plan also aims for a maximum price of N390/GB of data.
The
implementation of the Broadband Plan will support the diversification efforts
of the Federal Government. The unfortunate realities of the COVID-19 pandemic
has made it imperative to build and depend on a sector of the economy that is
more resilient to global economic shocks than the oil sector, which we have
depended upon for years. A case in point is the sudden crash of the price of a
barrel of crude oil below the $30 mark, thus creating a real challenge for our
budgetary projections that were based on $57 per barrel.
The importance of
broadband is further demonstrated by how it is helping to mitigate the adverse
effects of the virus in many countries and sustaining their economies. For
instance, citizens in many countries now have to rely on broadband for online
learning, remote working, telemedicine, and so on.
Broadband is a
key component of any digital economy and it is not merely for entertainment.
Rather, empirical evidence has shown that it can help to significantly improve
economic indices, create jobs and lift people out of extreme poverty. For
example, according to a report by Ericsson titled "How Important Are
Mobile Broadband Networks for Global Economic Development”, 10% increase in
mobile broadband penetration results in approximately 0.6% to 2.8% rise in the
gross domestic product (GDP).
Similarly, a 2018
Report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on “Defining and Measuring the
Digital Economy”, the digital economy in the United States contributed 6.9% to
the nation's GDP in 2017.
It also contributed 5.1million jobs in that year.
II. Commissioning
of the Emergency Communications Centre & Toll Free Number ‘112’
The Emergency
Communications Centre (ECC) and ‘112’ toll free number will instantly connect
Nigerians to emergency services 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The 3-digit
number allows for easy recall in times of emergency.
The programme is
in fulfilment of sections 107 3(a) and (b) of the Nigerian Communications Act
(2003), which states that:
The Commission
shall, in specific regard to emergency services, take immediate steps upon the
commencement of this Act to :
(a) promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number
which shall be designated as the universal safety and emergency assistance
number for telephone services generally ; and
(b) encourage and facilitate the prompt deployment throughout Nigeria of a
seamless, ubiquitous and reliable end-to-end infrastructure for emergency
communications needs.
The ECC is a
state-of-the-art Centre that will enable our nation’s emergency response
ecosystem have real-time data with which to provide timely assistance to
Nigerians during emergencies.
Each Centre has
well trained and courteous call agents and a primary interconnect operator.
Every call can be routed to either the Police, Fire Service, Civil Defence,
Federal Road Safety Corps or Hospital Ambulance team, depending on the type of
emergency.
There are
currently 19 such Centres across the country, including that of the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT), which is being commissioned today.
The ECC will support the efforts of government to ensure the security of lives
and property.
III. Flag-off of
the Digital Nigeria Programme (Nigerian Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Training)
The Digital
Nigeria Programme will provide a National Platform for improving the digital
literacy of Nigerians and it will enable Nigerians from all walks of life to
acquire high level digital skills. It will have a strong emphasis on Skills for
Jobs. We also want to change the paradigm of the trainees from being potential
employees to becoming potential employers. The programme will include Nigerians
in all strata of society, such as youth, women, children, internally displaced
persons, people living with disabilities, etc.
This Digital
Nigeria Programme is part of the efforts of the Federal Ministry of
Communications and Digital Economy to support the priorities of the Federal
Government to actively collaborate with the private sector to create a large
number of well-paying jobs for Nigerians.
It will also support in realization of Mr President’s promise to take 100
million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.
China pulled 493.8
million people out of extreme poverty (1999-2015), India pulled out 161.7
million people out (2004-2011) and Indonesia pulled out 64.5million people
(2000 - 2015). Digital technologies helped in this process, especially in
India. We want to use technology to achieve a similar feat in Nigeria and we
are using the Digital Nigeria Programme as a launchpad for this.
IV. Commissioning
of the Communications & Digital Economy Complex
Last but not the least is the Commissioning of this world-class building as the
Communications and Digital Economy Complex.
The project was
initiated in September 2004 and approved by the Federal Executive Council on
the 22nd of November, 2006. The building sits on an 8-hectare land and was
completed and handed over to NCC in May 2007.
It was then remodelled in 2016 and the current design of the complex consists
of 2 basement levels and 5 floors, making up a total of 7 levels and a roof top
terrace. The building includes s a 650-seater auditorium, complete with
audio/visual services. It also has offices and meeting rooms, along with indoor
and outdoor sports recreational facilities. It has five 800KVA generators and
three dedicated transformers connected to Power Holding Company of Nigeria
(PHCN).
The new
Communications and Digital Economy will provide a good environment for high
level productivity and will support our efforts to develop a National Digital
Economy. It will provide a platform for the successful implementation of the
projects and programmes of the Ministry across of all 8 pillars of the National
Digital Economy Policy and Strategy. It will also enable us drive the
implementation of the priorities of the Federal Government under our
supervision.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I
wish to sincerely thank His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, for
gracing this occasion in person and for his great support to the Federal
Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
I also want to
commend the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC), the other parastatals under the Ministry and their teams for the
successful implementation of the projects.
I thank all our
esteemed partners and stakeholders for coming. The journey has only just
started and I call on everyone to support us in building a Digital Nigeria for
the all-round success of our dear country.
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