Chikelu who launched the new website in Abuja Tuesday also said that it is linked to nearly 40 ministries and nearly 200 government sites, in addition to NTA and FRCN news. Observers already said it is the right thing to do in this e-government season. While launching the N40 million new national web portal, christened Nigeria Direct, which will serve as the country's veritable information stream to all and sundry both within and the outside world, the Director of Information Technology, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote assured that Nigeria Direct would be updated on a daily basis with news. That remains really the big challenge after the fanfare of Tuesday.
Chikelu said in Abuja at the event, "it is our country's information gateway and it seeks to provide a one-stop access to everything you want to know about Nigeria, about Nigerians about the government and its agencies and about investment opportunities in the country."
He further explained that the new national web portal was the product, of the "comprehensive of the national portal" which his ministry had embarked upon in March 2005, with a view to "creating a robust national presence on the world wide web."
He disclosed that the web portal fashioned after those of the developed world and conforms to the international best standards, was envisioned to be a one-stop hub where government and country information and statistics and other data that could be assessed by the public.
He enthused that the coming alive of the web portal represented the efforts of the Federal Government to "break the new frontiers in national self-affirmation, in claiming our own slot in cyberspace and communicating with the rest of the world as members of the civilized and information technology (IT) compliant humanity" noting that "Nigeria now has a strong and sure web footprint."
"It warehouses everything as a central information pool, leading to links and addresses that will give you the most reliable data on every aspect of our national life," he added.
The information minister said the web portal would "serve as the authoritative reference point for current information about the country's economy, politics, tourism , culture, investment opportunities and all other information on and about Nigeria."
Also, he said, it would "provide comprehensive links to all websites and databases of all government ministries and agencies in Nigeria."
Similarly, Chikelu noted, the portal would "serve as a vehicle to create and project the unique identity and character of Nigeria, its people and government, the vision and mission of the present democratic government" as well as "provide access to critical business and investment data for investors."
In addition, he said the Nigeria Direct is expected to "promote the rich cultural heritage of the country by providing relevant information on culture, traditions of Nigerian peoples and other information that will facilitate the development of a thriving tourist industry."
In her welcome address, Odusote had assured that Nigeria Direct would be updated on a daily basis with news, current affairs amongst others noting that, it will also "provide relevant links to all government agencies and parastatals and will host the websites for the Heart of Africa Project and the Nigeria Monthly magazine."
She stated that, in order to keep the web portal fresh and regularly updated, Chikelu has approved that a team of information officers from all departments be trained and pooled specifically for the assignment.
She added that, "a customer relationship management component is scheduled to come on stream this year so that responses to any kind of enquiry on and about Nigeria can be responded to real time. In this same vein, she also said, the minister has approved a public-private partnership with a company to provide an SMS -based public information service to respond to information from members of the public.
Autor: Kunle Aderinokun
Quelle: AllAfrica, 14.07.2005
