By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief

Within less than 2 years, the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy(FMoCDE)  has developed over 12 policies in the ICT sector most of which are being implemented today; while a few others are in draft format waiting for the Federal Executive Council (FEC’s) approval, Minister of Communications& Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has said. 

The Minister disclosed this while addressing ICT stakeholders at a hybrid stakeholders’ event in Lagos.

According to him, “some of the policies that we have developed and we have started implementation include:

• National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy For A Digital Nigeria 2020-2030.  This is the foundation of all other policies, what we call with the acronym of NDEPS
• Roadmap for the Implementation of NDEPS.  Under the policy, we also developed Roadmap  in which many of the stakeholders participated in the development
• Nigeria National Broadband Plan 2020-2025
• National Policy For Virtual Engagements In The Federal Public Institutions
• National Policy On Digital Identity For Internally Displaced Persons In Nigeria
• National Policy On Indigenous Content In The Telecommunications Sector
• National Policy For NIN-SIM Registration In Nigeria
• National Policy For Research, Installation For Nigeria
• National Digital Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Startup Policy

“These are some of the policies we have developed, more than 12 under 2 years amidst budgetary constraints.  That has never been achieved even within eight (8years) of any administration.  Most of them are available online for you to download particularly in the Ministry’s website and the parastatals’ websites -NCC, NITDA, NigComSat, Galaxy Backbone, NIMC.”

Now even while implementation of the NIN-SIM registration is underway in Nigeria, the Government of Ghana has mulled adopting Nigeria’s approach, Pantami doisclosed. 

“There is no responsible country that cares so much about its citizens that will live without providing identity to them.  If you go to the US, there is Social Security Number, in the UK there is National Insurance Number, in India with their large population, they have their Number and recently, the Vice President of Ghana announced officially that they have adopted our approach on verifying NIN and SIM in their country.  This is a great achievement that other nations in Africa are copying from us and that is what makes Nigeria the giant of Africa.”