Kano to drive e-governance, digital economy with enhanced capacity building

*Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, Minister for Communications and Digital Economy; Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Nigerian Communications Commission, and Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General of NITDA were among the dignitaries who headlined the recent two-day capacity building programme for members of the Kano State Executive Council

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

In its constant efforts at activating the Nigerian e-Government Master Plan (Ne-GMP) and National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) in the state, the Federal Government in conjunction with its relevant Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Telecoms-related agencies has initiated a two-day capacity building for members of the Executive Council of Kano State, in Northern Nigeria.

The training held at the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), in Kano, with Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Governor of Kano State in attendance.

ConsumerConnect gathered the government disclosed that it initiated the digital training programme to give special training to top government officials of the Kano State Government on the application of modern technology towards enhancing governance efficiency, evolving digital economy, and improving their performance at all levels while delivering services to the citizens.

A cross-section of dignitaries, and members of the Kano State Executive Council during the two-day programme

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), joined dignitaries at the opening ceremony of the training programme for members of the Kano State Executive Council.

Others included Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy; Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as well as members of the State Executive Council.

Likewise, Kano State Deputy Governor Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), and Commissioners among others also attended the digital training programme.

Earlier in his address at the opening ceremony, Dr. Pantami was said to have said the government initiated the programme in order to give special training to the top government functionaries in the state on modern technology adoption.

According to him, the aim is to help them to improve their performances at all levels while delivering services to the general public.

The Minister also noted that the training is the first of its kind in the country at the state level, and said that there could not be a better place to start than Kano State.

He stated that “Kano State is the most populous state” in Nigeria and commercial nerve centre of Northern Nigeria.

“Historically, the people of Kano have always been known to be hardworking and industrious.

“They were among the first people to establish major industries and conglomerates in Nigeria, trading in food and drinks, textile and footwear, tanning, ceramics, and furniture,” Pantami said.

He further explained that the commencement of the programme makes Kano State Executive Council members the first beneficiaries, with which he disclosed that Kano will be well-positioned in the end to develop a strong digital economy, and have a transformational impact on the state and the nation at large.

According to him, in light of global trends in the delivery of government services which is increasingly being characterised by the digitisation of processes, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy developed the Nigerian e-Government Master Plan (Ne-GMP) with the vision “to create a world-class, open and digitised government that connects with people to drive efficiency in public administration, responsiveness of civil services and transparency in governance leading to improvement of the quality of life of Nigerians.”

He said: “This is in line with the Ministry’s mandate to utilise ICT to drive transparency in governance and improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of public service delivery in Nigeria.

“The Plan was developed with specific strategies that will improve the quality of citizen’s lives by enhancing national competitiveness, facilitating market economy, promoting participatory democracy, and improving transparency in the public sector.”

The Minister as well noted “these strategies include the expansion of the number of public sector personnel trained on e-Government and the publicising of e-Government initiatives at the Federal and State Level.

“Various Capacity Building Programs have, therefore, been developed to aid the attainment of this goal.”

Dr. Pantami said that the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) was developed and launched in 2019 to reposition the Nigerian Economy in order to take advantage of the many opportunities that digital technologies provide.

“This is in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari to diversify the economy of Nigeria away from the dependence on the oil and gas sector, he said.

“As you may know, the NDEPS is anchored on eight (pillars, one of which is the Digital Literacy and Skills Pillar which provides policy backing for massive training of Nigerians from all works of life in order to enable them obtain digital literacy and other digital skills,” said he.

The Minister added: “An objective of the NDEPS is to support training and Capacity Building among public sector employees in the development and use of digital tools and applications to improve the delivery of government services.

“Furthermore, the Service Infrastructure Pillar provides support for Government Digital Services and the provision of robust digital platforms to drive the Digital Economy.

“This pillar supports the provision of a online platforms for government to interact with citizens and investors.

“It supports the deployment of government digital services and a paperless system. A key objective of the Service Infrastructure Pillar is the implementation of the e-Government Master Plan.”

Dr. Ganduje applauds Federal Government for e-governance training initiative

Governor Ganduje, on the initiative, applauded the Federal Government, especially the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, for bringing various initiatives, including training of over 1,000 youths on digital skills and other support programmes  being provided in the state.

The governor commended Dr. Pantami for matching words with action, adding that the e-governance training was informed by his visit to the Communications and Digital Economy Complex, in Abuja, FCT, where he initiated talks on the possible collaboration and partnership with the Ministry to foster ICT development in Kano state.

Ganduje also hinted at his government’s commitment to the realisation of ICT policy in the state.

ICT, the governor declared, has been a critical element to governance, and that his administration is making all efforts at ensuring that the Kano State taps on the immense benefit of e-governance and digital technologies by simplifying government operations as well as limiting government spending.

Ganduje stated: “It is imperative we apply the new system being used anywhere in the world, because the old system of government would not move the state forward.”

The governor assured that he would continue to come up with ways to streamline government operations and reduce the cost of running his administration.

E-governance is for convenient access to government services: NITDA DG

Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, in his opening remark earlier, said that the training programme is a milestone to the Kano State digital economy journey.

The NITDA Director-General noted that a lot could be achieved together, especially in e-governance and digital transformation which has five milestone.

Firstly, is about moving government services online for users to conveniently access government services as well as cost reduction, while the second one is to have open data for the state to engage its citizens, getting more information and data economy; and the third is using digital technology to inform decision easily by the data you have.

He stated that digital governance, which is fourth on the list, is beyond enhancing existing processes, he said it is about using technology as a source of inspiration to come up with new way of delivering services, using technology to come up with innovation in the way you do your business and unlock opportunities for the citizens.

According to Abdullahi, the fifth one is to make the government smart by using emerging technology to predict what is going to happen, what the citizens are going to think and how to shape and equip the citizens’ mindset within the state.

“The programme is about how to design digital economy, position Kano State Government to key in to the Federal Government digital economy initiative, and this can be done through aligning three things: people, processes, and the technology.

“And this training is going to expose you, build your capacity to make governance easier,” Abdullahi added.

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