FEC okays national blockchain policy

The Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its seating yesterday, approved a national blockchain policy.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen after the Council’s meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

A blockchain is a digital ever-growing list of data records. Such a list comprises many blocks of data, which are organised in chronological order and are linked and secured by cryptographic proofs.

The first prototype of a blockchain dates back to the early 1990s, when computer scientist, Stuart Haber, and physicist, W. Scott Stornetta, applied cryptographic techniques in a chain of blocks, as a way to secure digital documents from data tampering.

Pantami explained: “The Federal Government of Nigeria, today, approves the national blockchain policy for Nigeria. This policy was got through consultation with our stakeholders, where 56 institutions and personalities were involved in the process of conceptualising, developing and reviewing the policy.

“With the approval of the national blockchain policy for Nigeria, today, we can safely say that blockchain technology, with all its components and types, have been institutionalised in the country.”

He noted that the Security Council has directed regulatory bodies to liaise with the National Information Technology Development Agency, to come up with regulatory instruments in all sectors.

The approval, according to the minister, underlines the potential opportunities of blockchain technology, even as studies predict that blockchain would add $1.76 trillion to the global GDP by 2030.

Also, Buhari, yesterday, launched a new long-term national development plan, the Nigeria Agenda 2050 (NA 2050), which aims to ensure that the country attains a per capita GDP of $33,328 yearly, placing her among the top middle-income economies in the world by 2050.