Aregbesola, Maku, want governments to tap into ICT

The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday urged the National Council on Information to give thoughts to how governments at different levels can tap into the vast potentials of the social media and Information Communications Technology to enhance accountability and transparency in governance.
Aregbesola gave this charge while declaring open the 44th National Council on Information at the Women and Children Development Initiative Foundation, Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
The governor charged the NCI to outline the required steps to be taken in a bid to achieve efficient public information management in Nigeria.
According to him: “You may also want to examine the lingering debate on whether social media is a public utility requiring government regulation.
“All of these are very important when you consider the huge damage that shoddy and inexpert handling of public information can cause at different areas in a country.”
Aregbesola revealed that Osun State in the last three years of his administration has witnessed the enduring benefits of good governance, adding that people-driven and people-focused policies of the government benefit substantially from the huge capacities of social media.
He said: “We have healthy interactions and useable inputs from many of the citizens who have access to the different social sites.
“We are encouraging a culture of full and informed participation in governance through effective information management.
“Our unshaken commitment to the principles of accountability and transparency made us explore every opportunity that enables us to carry our people along as we work to transform their lives.”
Aregbesola noted that the new online platform his government launched recently is another means through which it seeks to deepen public engagement and popularise the Osun State brand in the widening Nigerian online space.
The governor, who showed the audience a documentary on the innovative learning device from the state, Opon Imo, said the device is a demonstration of his government’s belief in the use of ICT to enhance all facets of human life, including education.
He said with the introduction of Opon Imo alone, his government has beaten down the cost of and access to quality education in the state.
Aregbesola received repeated applauses as he reeled out the landmark achievements of his government in less than three years.
On the social media, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said that it has immense capacities for personalised content generation and has very minimal barriers, including costs, information and opinion dissemination.
The Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Sunday Akere, in his welcome address, said that Aregbesola since inception of office has employed the most effective communication strategy to re-awaken the people and renew their sense of belonging by rebranding the state.
Akere revealed that the Osun State governor, knowing the essence of state owned medium, threw everything into re-making the state broadcasting outfits by setting up a panel to set in motion new path for growth and development for the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation and other government owned stations.
According to him: “Our governor knows the essence of a state owned medium, thus his approval of funds for the purchase of exotic broadcast equipment for OSBC, mass training for all categories of staff for the first time in the state.
“We have a dedicated functional website where all relevant information can be found.
“We are still counting as various efforts are on to ensure that all that should make information available to the people about the state and administration are done.”