ICT sector grows at 24.42% as minister inaugurates committee for tech varsity

With a growth rate of 24.42 per cent, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has been declared as the fastest growing industry in the Nigerian economy.

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday, at the inauguration of the 25-member implementation committee on the proposed ICT University of Nigeria.

Shittu said this exponential growth in the sector was heralded by the liberalisation of the telecommunications industry alongside technological development in the industry, supported by sound policy and regulatory frameworks.

To keep with the pace of development and ensure that Nigeria moves on with the rapidly changing technological growth in the global ICT industry, Shittu said deliberate policy strategies must therefore be put in place within a nationally and globally defined agenda for sustainable ICT development.

For effect, the Minister said the Ministry of Communications has identified the establishment of an ICT university as one of the ways to move to the next phase of the nation’s ICT growth.

He said another obvious way is to re-strategise the country’s ICT skills requisition and R&D to focus more on solutions to current and anticipated challenges in the sector.

Shittu informed that the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), which is under the supervision of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and has campuses in each of the six geo-political zones, would be converted to ICT varsity, saying that the potential of the DBI are enormous and the benefits to the country unquantifiable.

While giving the committee six weeks from June 1 to submit their report so as to ensure the ICT varsity commences academic activities at the beginning of the coming academic session, Shittu said the proposed varsity should be driven by the ICT industry. It would offer programmes aimed at providing specialist knowledge and expertise required for a professional career in the broad field of ICT such as: Telecommunications, Internet of Things, Cyber Security, Robotic embedded systems, Computer forensics, digital media and entertainment technology.