The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has pledged the federal government’s commitment to ensuring that information and communications technology (ICT) is accessed nationwide.

Tijani said the push is needed to ensure the country competes favourably among other nations.”
  
The minister said that yesterday, at the commissioning and handover of the IT centre in Akesan, Lagos State, to the community by the Nigeria Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
   
Tijani said the centre was more than just a building, “but a strategic extension of our national mission – a bridge between the Federal Government’s digital economy policies and the unmatched energy, ingenuity, and innovation that Lagos represents.”

Represented by the the Director of eGovernance in the ministry, Johnson Bareyei, the minister noted that the centre aligned with the goals of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is to decentralise opportunity, expand access to digital skills, and make innovation part of the everyday experience of Nigerians, no matter where they live or work.
   
He said it is also a reflection of one of the ministry’s core missions of bringing technology and innovation closer to the people.
    
Tijani said in Lagos, the Community Centre would serve as a hub for digital skills development through the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme; support for startups, creatives, and tech entrepreneurs who are building globally competitive solutions and regulatory guidance and advisory for firms.
   
 Meanwhile, NITDA is targeting the establishment of at least 1,600 ICT centres across the federation in the next few years as part of efforts to ensure that every Nigerian is digitally included.
   
The Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, stated this at the commissioning, saying the agency has established a total of 222 ICT facilities in the last two years, and they were in three categories, including equipping school facilities with ICT tools, building community ICT centres and building ICT hubs.
   
According to him, 18 community centres have been built so far, while three ICT hubs have been established.
   
“Our target is to build more than 1,600 across the country. We want every community, every Nigerian to be part of this national prosperity and inclusivity when it comes to the digital economy,” he said.
  
Like Tijani, Inuwa noted that President Tinubu, on assumption of office, made it clear that economic diversification and inclusivity are paramount to his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
    
He said the President outlined seven key priority areas to achieve that vision, with number seven specifically focusing on accelerating diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative art, manufacturing, and innovation.
    
According to him, this was why NITDA is establishing ICT centres to build a digitally inclusive Nigeria, where every citizen, regardless of societal or social status, gender, and affiliation, has access to digital infrastructure and skills.