The Federal Government on Monday restated its determination to anchor major ongoing economic growth agenda, including the diversification of the nation’s economic base, on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools and solutions.
The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Communications, Mrs. Nkechi Ejele, made this disclosure at the opening ceremony of the sixth Regular Meeting of the National Council on Communication Technology (NCCT) with the theme ‘Leveraging ICT As a Veritable Vehicle for National Economic Recovery and Growth’ held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Ejele, who restated the government’s commitment to driving the economy through the use of ICT, said that it was the responsibility of experts at the forum to discuss and advise council on how ICT could be leveraged to support government strategies for economic recovery and growth.
According to her, the theme of the meeting was apposite and timely since it is coming at a time the nation is grappling with many social and economic challenges. So, expectations from this meeting are high.
She explained: “The government places a lot of premium on using ICT to increase the productivity frontiers and achieve economic diversification. We shall be considering policy memoranda, information notes and presentations on various dimensions of ICT development to make recommendations to the council proper.”
In her remarks at the forum, , the Director of Bureau of Information Technology in Ogun, Mrs. Olatundun Adekote, pointed out that ICT’s influence on economic growth was rapidly increasing and serving as current symbol of technological revolution.
For instance, she noted that “ICT was responsible for many structural changes such as re-organising of economies, globalisation and trade extension which leads to capital flows and enhanced information availability.”
