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FG inaugurates e-Government training centre for capacity building

By Adeyemi Adepetun and Nkechi Onyedika-Ugoeze, Abuja
26 November 2019   |   3:42 am
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has inaugurated an e-Government training centre, in Abuja.The Centre, which was built and donated to the Nigeria Government by its Korean counterpart through the Korea...

Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami

South Korea commits $8.45 million to project

The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has inaugurated an e-Government training centre, in Abuja. The Centre, which was built and donated to the Nigeria Government by its Korean counterpart through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), for the capacity building of e-Government in Nigeria, comes with a brand new 36-seater Hyundai bus as well as a 260 KVA generating set.

Located inside the premises of the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN), Kubwa, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who inaugurated the Centre, conveyed President Muhammadu Buhari’s appreciation to the Korean Government and her Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E Major Gen. Lee In-tae (Rtd.) for the intervention. Pantami added that the e-Government Centre will go a long way in bridging the gap in the training and retraining needs of civil servants in Nigeria.

The Minister reiterated that President Muhammadu Buhari on October 17, re-designated the Ministry to Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, to allow for the expansion of its scope and it’s parastatals toward changing the perceptions of Nigerians about its role and mandate in alignment with global best practice, and the Government’s Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP). He noted that retaining the former name meant that “the Ministry was more on how to provide ICT, but with the new nomenclature, the Ministry will now convert ICT and utilise it for economic benefits for both individual level and official purposes.” He added: “ICT today is not just about socialisation or conveying a message, but how we can utilise it to promote our economy.”

Patanmi said that e-Government is all about digital economy and that is why the Ministry and its parastatals have been mandated to implement e-Government in Nigeria, and that the Federal Executive Council has approved its Master Plan.

According to him, with the successful completion and inauguration of the e-Government Centre, a standing committee will be instituted to manage the centre, and ensure that civil servants are trained in batches with the anticipation that by 2022 or 2023, all civil servants in Nigeria would have been fully trained.

The Minister disclosed that the Ministry has commenced the process of securing another grant from the Korean Government for the second phase of the e-Government Centre, called on the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, and Ministry of Budget and National Planning, to intervene and ensure its success.

He eulogized the pioneer Director of the Centre, Dr. Geoon, who passed away before the completion of the edifice, adding that his contributions would remain in indelible in the hearts of stakeholders, and to serve as a memorial, he renamed the Centre as Dr. Geoon Multipurpose Centre.

Earlier, the Country Director of KOICA, Woochan Chang, said the inauguration of the e-Government Centre was historic, being the result of the partnership between his government and Nigeria. He added that KOICA had injected about $8.45 million in the project, and about $1million to refurbish the Centre, to serve as excellent training Centre for Nigerians.

The event also witnessed the closing ceremony and presentation of certificates to participants, who had undergone a four-week training and awards to best instructors, and had in attendance the chief executives of agencies under the Ministry.

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