Nigerian Government has charged all heads of ICT and other professionals in the IT sector to develop an effective standard and framework that to harness all IT solutions that will support government, private sector and the society.
The Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani gave this charge to heads of ICT in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and other professionals in IT sector during the National Council on ICT in MDAs held in Abuja.
In his keynote address, the Minister underscored the importance of technology as the bedrock of economic competitiveness the world over and the significant role it plays in proffering solutions to myriad of societal challenges. He said, ” Any government without technology and without prioritizing the applications of technology cannot provide service to its people in effective way”.
Dr. Bosun stressed that if government cannot use technology appropriately, the private sector too will not be able to operate maximally. He therefore called on the council members to note that the future of Nigeria and the dream of having a better country is dependent on the critical roles they play in their various organizations.
He revealed at the gathering that the interest and desire of Mr. President which is to see a Nigeria that is developed and having inclusive growth is achievable. He added that if the country will be successful and all the ministers in the various ministries will succeed, the drivers in ICT must understand their role.
In view of the above, Dr.Bosun called on the National Council of ICT to come up with useful data in their operation that will assist government in decision making, planning and in the implementation of its key policies and objectives, and also on how to balance the allocation of its scarce resources through budgeting processes among conflicting interests.
He pointed out that as experts and professionals, they must ensure they give accurate and updated specifications that will aid the procurement process in line with best practices, bearing in mind that technology is evolving.
The minister cautioned ” your job in the MDAs is not about people having access to computers, not just to ensure that the users have access to connectivity but by ensuring the full automation of your operations that provide services to the people, and capture information adequately that will serve as important tool for your ministers and permanent secretaries on how to decide the allocation of resources”, he added.
In another development, the minister also charged all heads of ICT on the need to harmonize their system for improved service delivery as well as ensure that as they buy technology solutions in their MDAs, they have the responsibility to connect together and harmonize their system because every ministry is a part of the single government with an agenda that will deliver data policy to the people.
