Headlines
90% of Nigerians will be computer-literate by 2030–Pantami
Nasiru Yusuf
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Ali Pantami has revealed plans by the Federal Government to make at least 90 percent of Nigerians computer-literate by 2030.
The minister expressed optimism that at least, 90 percent of Nigerians will be digitally literate by the end of the decade as all agencies in the ministry will be involved in series of training and retraining.
Mr Pantami was speaking at a media parley with journalists in Abuja.
He explained the goal of turning Nigeria digital by making citizens computer-literate, owning a digital device (which the agencies in the Ministry have been assisting to facilitate), having access to the Internet, owning a bank account that can be accessed and operating digitally and online.
The Minister said beyond financial services, the Federal Government hopes to see majority of the citizens undertake many activities electronically.
According to him, this is in line with re-designation of the Federal Ministry of Communications to Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Minister said the re-designation was done to position Nigeria for the gains of digital economy and to achieve the central focus of the ministry to migrate the nation to a digital economy.
He said this is particularly significant as it enables Information and Communication Technology to mobilise other sectors and align with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.
The minister revealed that the federal government had directed the ministry to develop and implement a national digital economy strategy.
According to him all government parastatals are connected to the strategy in view of the centrality of ICT to development in other sectors of the economy, adding that the role of the Ministry is to coordinate the implementation of the policy and the strategy.
Mr Pantami revealed that different sections of the population are targeted for training and retraining, including women, youths, journalists, civil servants and those who obtained school certificate but unemployed.
The broadband plan
He explained that the 2020-2025 Broadband Plan is expected to be ready within the first quarter of 2020 and the plan is to ensure that all unserved and underserved areas have access to broadband services.
He said the Federal Government and the Ministry are encouraging many institutions to host their data in Nigeria as he promised to continue the advocacy.
The Minister emphasised that digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship are particularly important in ensuring increase in Nigeria’s GDP.
He made a comparison between Nigeria and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by stating that Nigeria’s GDP is $397 billion while MIT’s GDP is about five times higher, and attributed the disparity largely to inputs of digital innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Minister, however, explained that Nigeria is so blessed and needs to leverage that potential to ensure her teaming youths acquire enduring “skills that will make them to be potential employers rather than potential employees”.
Mr Pantami expressed optimism to seeing more Nigerians use the social media to support the digital economy by engaging it to achieve legitimate economic prosperity rather than promotion of division and hatred.
According to him, since September 25th, 2019, no Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card has been used in Nigeria without being properly registered.
“You may buy a SIM card but you cannot activate it to use unless it has been properly registered, and NCC will provide biodata of any improperly-used SIM card to the police or other security agencies within 24 hours whenever it is required.
“Life is more important than material benefits of having many SIM cards in circulation, and in any case, blocking improperly registered SIM cards did not diminish the contribution of ICT to GDP,” he said.
‘NIPOST should collect stamp duty’
On the challenges of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST), the Minister stated that the Ministry has made presentation to the Federal Government that NIPOST should be the collector of stamp duty and not the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and by implication the Federal Ministry of Finance,.
“So, we have challenged the status quo about the collection of stamp duty,” Dr Pantami said.
The Minister also unveiled the plan for the transformation of NIPOST with regard to undertaking a total restructuring and transformation.
“We will also commercialise some activities of the organisation by registering few companies to ensure the renovation and commercialisation of dilapidated NIPOST structure all over the country starting with NIPOST facilities in major cities,” he said.
The briefing was attended by chief executive officers and management staff of the FMoCDE and its agencies, including Ubale Maska, NCC’s Executive Commissioner Technical Services, who represented the EVC of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta.
Other are Adeleke Adewolu, NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management; Managing Director of Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Abimbola Alale, Chairman of Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi and the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Limited Prof. Mohammed Abubakar.
Aminu Abdullahi
All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the last Saturday gubernatorial election, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna on Tuesday rejected the declaration of Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP as the winner of the poll in Kano state.
KANO FOCUS reports that Gawuna in his first public appearance after the poll, spoke during a press conference by the party in the state capital.
The Deputy Governor who admitted that power comes from Almighty Allah, however said he aligned with the positions of the party which among others gave INEC 7 days ultimatum to declared the governorship poll inconclusive.
Gawuna who was in the company of party leaders, said it was astonishing that with the same election, 16 of the House of Assembly elections held same day and same conditions were declared inconclusive by INEC.
Meanwhile, the APC in Kano has rejected the announcement of Abba Kabir Yusif of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as winner of the just concluded governorship election in Kano calling for immediate review of the election result by the electoral umpire within seven days.
The APC chairman, who was represented by the party’s legal adviser, Abdul Adamu Fagge insists that the election should be declared inconclusive because the cancelled votes were greater than the margin between the first and the second parties of NNPP and APC respectively as provided by the Electoral Act.
Fagge said that there was no way the election could be declared conclusive with over 270,000 votes cancelled which a margin shows is bigger than the winner’s votes.
The party also drew attention to the cancellation of sixteen House of Assembly elections in the state, sighting violence as the reason, while the same votes were considered in collating the governorship election.
It expressed dismay saying the two elections took place same day, same time, same places and under the same circumstances.
Fagge said, “based on section 65 of the Electoral Laws 2022, we have written to INEC to revisit and cancel the hasty, wrong and selfish declaration of the NNPP as winner of the elections, and declared the conduct inconclusive”.
He said they have since written to INEC to within seven days revisit the elections based on the provisions of the Electoral laws and declare it Inconclusive.
The Legal Adviser explained that INEC Returning Officer, acted not on the only basis of the provisions of laws.
Mukhtar Yahaya Usman
The Kano State Government has lifted the dawn-to-dusk curfew imposed in the state.
KANO FOCUS reports that the state government on Monday imposed the curfew with a view to avoiding a breakdown of law and order.
The order followed tensions generated from the collation of results of the governorship and state Assembly elections.
The state Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Muhammad Garba, made the announcement lifting the curfew in a statement issued on Monday night.
He said the decision to lift the curfew followed a careful review of the situation and the relative calm throughout the state.
The commissioner called on commercial banks, public servants and the people in the state to continue their normal activities.
Aminu Abdullahi
The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has defeated the All Progressive Party to win Saturday’s governorship election in Kano State.
KANO FOCUS reports that Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP was declared the winner with 1,019,602 votes against his closest rival, APC’s candidate, Nasir Gawuna, who polled 890,705 votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission Returning officer, Prof Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, announced Yusuf as the winner of the Kano gubernatorial election on Monday morning.
The declaration brought intense electioneering and Saturday election in Kano to an end as two ‘king makers’ – former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and incumbent Governor Abdullahi Ganduje – in the state tested their might. While Kwankwaso backed Yusuf, Ganduje routed for Gawuna, his deputy, to succeed him.
Yusuf’s profile
Born to the family of Malam Kabiru Yusuf and Malama Khadijatul-Naja’atu in Gaya Local Government Area of Kano State on 5th January 1963, Abba attended Sumaila primary school between 1968 and 1975.
He then proceeded to Government Secondary School Dawakin Tofa and later moved to Government Secondary school Lautai in Gumel where he completed his secondary education in 1980.
Abba Kabir Yusuf bagged a National Diploma (ND) from the Federal Polytechnic Mubi in 1985 and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Civil Engineering from Kaduna Polytechnic in 1989.
He later obtained a postgraduate diploma in management and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Bayero University, Kano.
Gida-Gida’s grandfather, Alhaji Yusuf Bashari, under whom the NNPP governorship candidate started his Islamic education, was Danmakwaiyon Kano and a former District Head of Gaya.
Abba Gida-Gida began his career with the Kano State Water Resources Engineering and Construction Agency (WRECA), Kano State Water Board and later moved to the state Ministry of Water Resources where he held various positions.
He was appointed as Personal Assistant to the then Kano State Governor, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and later Special Assistant (Administration) between 1999 – 2003.
Abba worked again with Kwankwaso from 2003 to 2006 when the former governor of Kano State was appointed Minister of Defence.
He served as the Special Assistant to the Special Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Darfur/Somalia until 2007.
Abba was also appointed by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua as the chairman, Governing Board of the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Ondo State from 2009 to 2011.
During Kwankwaso’s second tenure in office, Abba was appointed as the First Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to the governor; and subsequently the state’s Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport.
The closely contested 2019 governorship election in Kano between the PDP and the ruling APC brought Abba Gida-Gida to the limelight.
Kwankwaso’s anointed candidate contested against the incumbent Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in an election that was declared inconclusive; but lost after a rerun.
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[Friday Sermon] Let’s belief in predestination and support Jagaban for the good of our country!
