Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has said that Nigeria’s march towards attaining 95 per cent digital literacy in 2030, as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030), looks more promising now than ever.

Pantami, who presided over the graduation of participants at a two-week Digital Job Creation Training for the North East in Gombe State, said: “We train citizens is because digital skills are no longer considered a luxury, but necessity, in any business you do. If you want to be successful, you need to have digital skills.”

“ICT is not just an independent sector, but the key enabler of all other sectors today. It enables opportunities in education, health, agriculture, security, defence, manufacturing, trade, investment and industry.”

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) facilitated the training.

He, therefore, urged the participants to adopt innovation-driven enterprises and to utilise the training they have received to improve their economic status and make Nigeria a better place.

“We have to utilise ICT to make our country a better place. We must use ICT even for our personal economic benefits. Therefore, we encourage you not to waste your time online, but to use the knowledge you have acquired to make Nigeria a better place and derive economic benefits from it,” Pantami said.

The minister cited recent reports of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) about the performance of each sector of the economy, which indicated ICT’s unprecedented contribution of 18.44% to the economy, as very heart-warming about the prospects of the industry meeting with the expectations of the relevant policies.

“So, by implications, we set a record last year and we surpassed that record in the second quarter of 2022 without involving the digital services. Only the ICT sector contributed 18.44 per cent, which can be attributed to the policies we have introduced in the sector,” he said.

The training, which has taken place in nine other states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he said, will be conducted throughout the remaining geopolitical zones.

The two-week programme is targeted at youths desirous of developing and enhancing their ICT skills to promote growth in the yet untapped and commercially viable digital economy, locally and globally. Each participant at the training received starter packs comprising laptop with accessories, MiFi Modem with three months data subscription, and cash.