The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has inaugurated two inter-agency committees with the mandate to review, collate, commission and communicate in local languages Information and Communication Technology projects implemented for Nigerians under President Muhammadu Buhari.
The two Ministerial committees, which are: Completed Projects Review Committee and Committee on Media Engagement in Local Languages, are chaired by Ayuba Shuaibu Executive Secretary, Universal Service Provision Fund, and Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director, National Information Technology Development Agency respectively.
Membership of the committees are drawn from all the five agencies supervised by the Ministry: NCC, NITDA, Galaxy Backbone, NIGCOMSAT and NIPOST
Pantami stated that while the Ministry and the agencies had successfully complemented a number of projects across the geopolitical zones in the country, which have great benefits to Nigerians, the existence of these projects have not been sufficiently communicated to the public in local languages.
According to Pantami: “There has not been so much awareness creation on the presence of these projects among Nigerians who are the ultimate beneficiaries.”
In concrete terms, the Minister said the responsibility of the Ministerial Committee on Completed Projects Review and Commissioning is to collate all the laudable projects and then organise a virtual commissioning in order to bring them to the consciousness of Nigerians.
On the responsibility of the Ministerial Committee on Media Engagement in Nigerian Languages, Pantami said the committee will work to ensure awareness creation about the projects, their locations and benefits to Nigerians using local languages such as Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and Fulfude spoken in the zone where the projects are sited.
The Minister further tasked the committee members to work with a sense of synergy and purpose towards delivering the national assignments within the timelines set, adding that he and the heads of agency would provide necessary interventions and supports to the committees towards delivering on their terms of reference whenever needed.
Present at the inauguration were the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta; Kasifu Abdullah, Director General, NITDA; and Dr. Abimbola Alale, Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT.
