Stakeholders hinge governance, transparency on adoption of digital technology
10 October 2022 |
2:45 am
For the adoption of digital technology in Nigeria, issues of governance and transparency will be central to achieving major developmental targets in Nigeria.
For the adoption of digital technology in Nigeria, issues of governance and transparency will be central to achieving major developmental targets in Nigeria.
This formed part of the submission by stakeholders at the Nigeria eGovernment Summit 2022, where they equally stressed the need for the adoption of digital technology in the 2023 general election to enhance governance that is built on transparency and accountability.
Business driven by technology
At the yearly summit, which was held in Lagos, organised by DigiServe Network Services, in partnership with Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and VDT Communications, with the theme: ‘Promoting eGovernment in Election Year for Improved Governance,’ one of the keynote speakers and former Legal Adviser to All Progressives Congress (APC) Babatunde Ogala (SAN), who identified the major challenges of the past governments in Nigeria as lack of technology adoption and deployment by past leaders, said Nigeria must elect tech-savvy leaders in the next election year in 2023, who will adopt digital technology to enhance governance.
“For any meaningful development to take place in Nigeria, and for the citizens to enjoy the dividend of democracy, the leaders must be tech-savvy. The adoption of digital technology will not only speed up electoral processes but will also create efficiency, transparency and accountability in governance. It will also improve the security of our electoral processes,” Agala said.
He added that the introduction of card readers and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would further enhance Nigeria’s electoral processes.
Lagos State gubernatorial candidate for Accord Party, Hakeem Dickson, who also presented a keynote paper at the summit, said if elected as the next governor of Lagos State, under Accord Party, he would use technology to transform the state within a space of six months.
“Leaders who are technology savvy will use technology to generate funds for the government without overtaxing the citizens and also use technology to boost development, enhance governance and develop the human capacity building,” Dickson said.
Executive Chairman, of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and Chairman, of Joint Tax Board, Muhammad Nami, in his address, said he had always been passionate about governance which has reflected in several processes at the FIRS, vis-à-vis the automation of tax administration, and the collection of data from various government agencies, e-payment processing and e-receipt issuance among others.
Nami, who was represented at the summit by the Director, Intelligence, Strategic Data Mining and Analysis at FIRS, Kola Okunola, said FIRS had been focused on creating data-driven culture in the public sector, with improved transparency, accountability and social inclusiveness.
According to Nami, the adoption of the right technology will improve tax revenue with better connectivity and integration of government agencies.
In his welcome address, the Executive Chairman, DigiServe Network Services, Lanre Ajayi, said: “The election year, which is the time when a lot of attention is paid to governance issues, is a perfect time to promote eGovernment to the ruling class and the general public, which is the adoption of technology in government processes and service delivery, that makes government service delivery efficient and cost-effective.”
Highlights of the summit were the different panel sessions that discussed international best practices in eGovernment, energy as a critical resource for eGovernment deployment and people’s expectations in a technology-driven society among others.
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