Vice President Arc Namadi Sambo has stated that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is key to the transformation of the country.The vice president made this statement today while answering questions from journalists at the International Communication Union (ITU) World Forum holding in Dubai, UAE.
The vice president stated that Nigeria is participating in the conference in recognition of the great importance of Information and Communication Technology to the realization of the administration’s transformation agenda of making it one of the most developed economies of the world by the year 2020. He stated that it was in line with that objective that the administration went to the extent of establishing the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, which would be responsible for the formulation and implementation of government policies and programmes in the ICT sector.
Arc Sambo stated that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the major areas of job and wealth creation and therefore it is essential that Nigeria continue to have cooperation at the international level so as to continue to expand and open the ICT sector in the country to create jobs for the teeming Nigerian populace.
The vice president stated that Nigeria, with a population of about 167 million people, is at an investment level of about $15billion in the ICT Sector while Dubai with a population of just about 4million is at an investment level of about $60billion. He stated that Nigeria has the opportunity to grow higher than Dubai and that what the administration planned to do was to create jobs for Nigerians, open the sector and create opportunities for wealth creation.
The event tagged “ITU Telecom World 2012” is an annual event organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations (UN)specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) and its membership spans government and the ICT industry and cuts across the public and private sectors with 193 Member states and 700 sector members and associates.
The vice president, who represents the president at the event, was accompanied by the Governors of Niger and Abia states Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and Theodore Orji.,the minister of State for Foreign Affairs Viola Onwuliri and Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Omobola Johnson among others.
