IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Making the assertion last week in a lecture entitled; "E - Learning and Medical Practice"at the 9th Faculty Conference/Annual Gathering of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi- Araba Lagos, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, MTN, Dr. Bola Akingbade said Telemedicine would benefit both patient, healthcare systems and the society at large.

At the signing of the MoU on Friday between the state government represented by the ministries of transport and justice, and the representative of the Courtville Business Solutions Plc, Mr. Wale Sonaike, Ntekim said the need to set out a robust framework to track vehicular movement in the state necessitated the new move. On the authenticity of the agency, the Commissioner said: “We interviewed and interacted with a number of agencies with ostensible capacity to provide these services. After a dispassionate, thorough and painstaking appraisal, we settled for the web-based Autoreg by Courtville Business Solutions Plc since it provides the best option both in capacity and experience.”

During the assessment of Governor Udom Emmanuel 20 months’ strides in delivering good governance and dividends of democracy in Akwa Ibom State, the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Charles Udoh engaged the new media community in Akwa Ibom with a world-class tactical managerial feedback strategy and interactive session with the public.

In his opening remark, Mr. Charles Udoh noted that the fora was essential, considering the e-governance model of Governor Udom Emmanuel as it delivered a needs assessment analysis of the 2017 Blueprint of the Akwa Ibom State Government.

First, it is essential to state that Akwa Ibom was the first State in Nigeria to establish and enthrone a State Information (IT) Policy and created a Science and Technology Office at the Cabinet level – represented by a Commissioner. True to type, the State has also become the first to appoint a full-fledged ICT professional as SSG.

Indeed, the ‘first kid on the block’ concept in contemporary development is not new. Chief Obafemi Awolowo applied it in 1955 when he enthroned ‘Free Education’ in the South-West and Bill Gates of MS and Steve Jobs of Apple PC applied it to fire and light-up the accelerated development of global ICT Ecosystem.

Under the system, according to the Health Commissioner, Dr. Joe Akabuike, medical information in all hospitals connected to the network would easily be available and could be shared by doctors where necessary.

There are high hopes for the possibility of Anambra citizens having access to the St​ate Laws and other legislative instruments digitally, as the Anambra State ICT Agency on Friday took its digitization drive to the State House of Assembly.

The ICT Agency’s delegation led by Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, met with Mr. Somto Udeze, the Speaker of the House, and Mr. Ikenna Ofodeme the majority leader.

Anambra State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, has convened a stakeholders’ forum as part of plans to boost the South Eastern (Nigeria) State’s broadband infrastructure.

The forthcoming Stakeholders’ Forum on the theme: “Facilitating Broadband Access in Anambra State through a Favourable Right of Way Regime”, is scheduled to hold on March 30, 2021 at 02:00 pm (West African Time); with Federal and State Government officials, members of diplomatic corps, investors, industry associations and other are expected participants.

National President of ANLCA, Prince Olayiwola Shittu who disclosed in chat with journalists in Lagos said the aim of the project is to stem criminalities at the nation’s seaports.

He said the association was contending with a lot of forces that are trying to ridicule it, even as he added that most of the problems are operational.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA will introduce e-government in local government areas it wins in the forthcoming election, a leader of the party in the state, Dr. Ovie Ughwanogho has said.

Ughwanogho who spoke in an interview said he was optimistic that his party would make good outing in Ethiope East and Ughelli North.

Stakeholders in the built environment have urged professionals to embrace the concept of smart cities that would focus on using technology and data to improve public services, as well as quality of life for the residents.

The architects and planners, who spoke at the Archibuilt Exposition in Abuja, said the use of artificial intelligence and technology, innovative devices and knowledge-based economy would promote affordable housing.

Any intellectual gathering focusing on information technology usually gets me excited, not only because I have been part of the phenomenal impact ICT has had on our lives, but because I strongly believe that we have not utilised this platform to its utmost in the interest of our people in this great country, Nigeria.

Speaking at the recent Africa Digital Forum 2013, with the theme “Deepening eGovernance, Transparency with Broadband Access”, Aregbesola disclosed that Osun state generated so much revenue on monthly basis with the support of its E-Payment system, and insisted that state and federal governments could do same by blocking financial leakages in public sector through the deploying appropriate technology.

The Federal Government created in April 2001, the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, and gave it a mandate to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development in the country.

The NITDA’s mandate is quite diverse and vast, focusing the responsibilities of the Agency on fostering the development and growth of IT in Nigeria.

In an effort towards ensuring that the IT policy’s implementation proceeds with maximum effectiveness, NITDA regulates, monitors, evaluates, and verifies progress on an on-going basis under the supervision and coordination of the Federal Ministry of Communications.

Ajayi asked the FG to define policy objectives and strategies for broadband in the area of e-Government, e-Commerce, Information Technology (IT) Park development, Internet Governance Cyber security, Internet Exchange, Spectrum management, and Outsourcing.

Emma Okonji examines the role of emerging technologies in attaining smart, secure and sustainable nation as projected by the Nigeria Computer Society at the 2022 NCS international conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State

Aligning itself with global trends, where nations are introducing and implementing smart technologies for sustainable national development, the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for all Information Technology (IT) professionals, has stressed the need for the development of smart, secure and sustainable Nigeria, using emerging technologies.

In a society where policy makers always claim that they are doing all they could to put corruption and sundry sharp practices at bay, it has become imperative for the government to convince the whole world that it is matching action with words and not merely playing to the gallery on issue of corruption.

Sales Director, Africa, for Western Digital, a global storage company, Mr. Ghassan Azzi, speaks on the importance of data storage for businesses and organisations, as well as the company’s efforts towards transforming data storage in Nigeria. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

Q: What is the importance of data to businesses and organisations in today’s world of digital transformation and why is it necessary to secure their data?

Data security is crucial for businesses of all sizes, whether you are a global conglomerate, an enterprise or a small start-up. No business today should overlook implementing security measures as effective data storage measures not only help to avoid data breaches but also shield your business against unnecessary financial costs, loss of public trust and potential threats to brand reputation. Data must be securely stored, backed up and ready for retrieval at any point in time. Any organisation without effective data storage infrastructure and devices is still far from the realities of digital transformation.

Nigeria's march towards digital inclusion may have started, but experts believe that it will take longer than expected to attain the goal, if some retrogressive policies of government are not urgently reversed.

A case in point is the subsisting federal government's policy and directive that bandwidth should no longer be a recognized item in Ministries, Departments and Agencies' (MDA) budgets.

The Bayelsa State government has established an integrated network designed to improve e-governance and efficient public service administration.

The technology-driven network is christened State Integrated Financial Management Information System (SIFMIS).

Benue State government in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology and Rockefeller Foundatiion, yesterday engaged 1,000 unemployed graduates in the state in a two-day Information and Communication Technology, ICT training.

Addressing participants in Makurdi, representative of the Director of e-government at the ministry, Mr. Macdonald Ekworo said the initiative was to deploy the ICT platform to provide jobs to the unemployed graduates with ICT skills.