IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The National Information Technology Development Agency has unveiled the draft national outsourcing strategy for Nigeria.

The draft strategy was unveiled on Thursday during an online workshop.

The Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, said the strategy would ensure effective implementation of the national digital economy policy and strategy of the Federal Government.

NITDA’s director-general, Mr Peter Jack, aware of the paucity of uptake and deployment of IT in especially the public sector, and in realisation of the critical need to embrace electronic systems for governance and administration, said the crusade to carry IT into all nooks and crannies of the country, into all public and private establishments, with the schools being the incubation centres was now more urgent than before.

The director general of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack, stated this when he received a top management delegation from Accenture led by its country managing director, Mr. Niyi Yusuf, which paid him a courtesy visit in the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the 36 state governments on Thursday concluded an arrangement to use the National Smart Cities Initiative (NSCI) as a solution to transportation, disaster response, energy, healthcare, education and the environment challenges confronting towns and cities.

A statement signed by NITDA's spokesperson, Mrs Hadiza Umar, and made available to the media in Abuja, said the collaboration in the first instance will involve eight cities nationwide, including Abuja, Lagos and one city selected from each of the six geopolitical zones.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has identified people, process and technology as key success factors in the deployment of electronic or e-governance tool in the country and the benefits therefrom.

Its acting Director General, Dr Vincent Olatunji who spoke on: Information Technology- A Veritable Tool for Governance and Achieving a Corrupt Free Public Administration, at Nigerian Telecom Awards, in Lagos said President Muhammadu Buhari has mounted a holistic anti-corruption crusade as one of the tenets of his administration, adding however that strong and transparent institutions are required to achieve good governance and a corrupt free administration.

The Jalingo Smart City Tracking and Monitoring project, designed and implemented under the tutelage of the Smart City initiative of the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, has been globally recognised.

The project was awarded the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC), $10,000 Leadership Prize at the just- concluded Smart City Innovation Summit in Austin, Texas, United States.

Wins $10,000 prize

The Jalingo City’s Smart IDP Tracking and Monitoring project, designed and implemented under the tutelage of the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA’s) Nigeria Smart City Initiatives has won a global recognition.

The project was awarded the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) a $10,000 Leadership Prize at the just- concluded Smart City Innovation Summit in Austin, Texas, United States.

The minister made this known during an interactive session with energy correspondents in Lagos.

Mr. Nnaji said that based on the agreement reached with the union to increase the salary of its members by 50 per cent, there was need to subject them to biometrics verification, an exercise, which, he noted, had commenced before the union stopped the process.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday said no government can succeed in actualizing its vision and plan for the people without an effective, efficient and innovative public service.

He said the public service was charged with the responsibility of implementing government policies and programmes, thus critical in actualizing government’s vision.

Starting in 2018, no Nigerian will obtain or renew their international passports without having a national identification number (NIN), the federal government says

The FG has plans to harmonise databases from different parastatals into one electronic portal in the future

Ikeja branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has inaugurated its 16th Chairman, Nimot Muili, making her the third woman to hold the position and solidifying her role after serving in an acting capacity since August 2024.With the theme: “Innovation for Tomorrow: Connecting Resilient Infrastructure with the Blue Economy to Achieve a Lagos Smart City,” the event drew stakeholders from engineering, academia, finance, and government.

Outgoing Chair, John Adedotun, in his address, reflected on his three-year tenure. “Whatever has a beginning must have an end,” he said, leading the audience in a song of thanksgiving.

The Chief Executive Officer, Secured Records Management Solutions, Dr. Sam Nwosu, in this interview spoke about the importance of digitalisation to organisations. Emma Okonji brings the excerpts:

Q: Electronic Records Management (ERM) solution is making in-roads at a time when the federal government is in search of technology solutions that will drive its digital transformation agenda. How will the ERM solution assist government in achieving its digital transformation goals?

Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki has lunch the State Integrated Information Management System (SIFIMS) to enhance and actualize his administration’s vision of a repositioned e-driven Civil Service in the state.

Governor Obaseki who flagged off the system in government house Benin City said the flag off is significant because the Public Service has moved into a new era and this achievement has been made possible due to the courage of the former governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole who paved the way for today’s event.

Luxury property investors with appetite for high livability index will have their attention turned to Nigeria’s first green smart city, Ocean City Lagos, Nigeria’s newest island. Already billed as “Jewel of the Atlantic”, the 308-hectare man-made island, reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean, has the look of the country’s smartest community as the world’s next 5G-driven destination, in addition to being the site of Nigeria’s next iconic landmark, Africa’s tallest skyscraper, a definite eye-popper when completed.

Ocean City Lagos’ combination of lavish futuristic offerings and pristine charm, the latter making it the direct opposite of the choked Lekki Residential Scheme 1, Ikoyi and Victoria Island neighbourhoods.

Recently, the digital media space was inundated with comments surrounding the efficacy of facial recognition technology in some cyber videos produced in China.

It was indeed astonishing seeing how people performed mundane tasks such as electronic payments and facility access with relative ease. Simply put, technology simplifies seemingly arduous tasks, therefore it is no surprise that the most technologically advanced countries lead the global socio-economic progress charts.

Several developing countries, including Nigeria have come to realise the importance of information technology (IT) in building economies, creating wealth and enhancing the potential of individuals.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, while on official visit to Omatek Ventures in Lagos last month, reiterated government's plan to reposition Nigeria through economic diversification in the area of IT. Several government agencies, including NITDA that has the mandate to formulate and implement IT policies for the country, have also stressed the need for IT development across all sectors of the Nigerian economy, if Nigeria must overcome its present economic recession.

A realtor, Mr. Emmanuel Oyelowo said, his company would combine skilled professionals in structural design and real estate management to boost the real estate investment in the country.

This, he said, would be done through affordable housing to enable individuals and investors with the process of securing home ownership dreams to pursue their Investment desire.

The Ogun State Government has said that it is set to create smart cities through its regeneration schemes across all the urban centres in the state.

Governor Dapo Abiodun, who disclosed this on Thursday during the 2024 World Environment Day (WED), with the theme: "Achieving the Smart City Agenda Through Climate Change Resilience and Urban Afforestation", noted that climate change was a phenomenon which everyone should actively participate in for a safer society.

In 1999, I was elected governor of Ogun State. It was a job I kept till 2003. To many, the art of governance and management of State resources is complex and cumbersome. My experience certainly did not justify this view. I hold that a government with focus and well defined work processes and procedures will find governance challenging but fulfilling. When I was sworn into office on 29th May 1999, the State owed virtually every sector and stakeholder: civil servants, primary and secondary school teachers, pensioners, contractors etc. There was pain and tension in the land. To ease things, we devoted about 70% of the revenue of the first six months to settling debts.

Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa of Delta State make history recently as perhaps the first and only state governor in the federal republic of Nigeria to acquire the e-Government certification.

In line with Global standards, 21st-century leadership and governance is incomplete, inadequate and indeed unproductive without digital proficiency in e--Government process certification.