…As Danbatta bags ‘Icon of Digital Revolution Award’
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its commitment to bridging the nation’s growing gender-oriented digital divide to accelerate inclusive economic prosperity for all Nigerian citizens.
The NCC Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, who made this commitment at the 2022 Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs and Executives in Tech Summit (WEETS) held in Lagos, where he was conferred with the ‘Icon of Digital Revolution Award’ for his role in stimulating digital connectivity in Nigeria, said promotion of gender equality remained a major component of ICT sector’s development.
He noted that the gender dimensions of ICT entailed access and use; capacity-building opportunities; employment and potential for empowerment, adding that all these dimensions need to be explicitly identified and addressed to leverage on technology and communication as powerful catalysts for political, economic, and social empowerment of women, and the promotion of gender equality.
Speaking on the event’s theme ‘Reskilling Women and Girls to Thrive in the Digital Economy’ Danbatta, who was represented by NCC’s Head, Digital Media Management, Nafisa Rugga, said the theme aligned with the current drive by the Federal Government to ensure an all-inclusive digital economy that drives the strategic vision plan of the Commission.
Danbatta thanked the organizers of the event, Techlife Media and Communications Limited, a Lagos-based media organisation, for recognising his contribution to Nigeria’s digital progression, saying he will dedicate the award to the NCC team of professionals for their commitment to the digital revolution in the country.
According to him, one of the ways through which the commission had been striving to achieve inclusive growth, is through increased digital connectivity to all, regardless of gender and other accidental circumstances.
This is even as the telecom sector regulator stressed that the commission had continued to be at the forefront in the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030; the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025; and related policies aimed at deepening connectivity for all citizens, thereby bridging digital gender disparity.
The expatiated: “The NCC has put in the front burner the need to expose girls and young women to more opportunities in the digital ecosystem, in line with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) resolution 70, which advocates gender mainstreaming and promotion of gender equality, as well as the empowerment of women through information and communications technology (ICT), and we are fully committed to this.”
