Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta (Right) in a chat with the Contractors during the inspection of the NCC Digital Park Project in Kano.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has again visited and inspected ongoing construction of the Digital Industrial Park (DIP) project in Kano, where he tasked contractor handling the project to complete its assignment by January 2023

Prof Danbatta who was in Kano at the weekend also received commitment from the contractors that the project will be completed by January 2023.

Statement from the Commission stated that the DIP is currently being built across the six geo-political zones of the country by the NCC to provide Innovation Labs and Digital Fabrication Laboratories (Fablabs) for use by digital innovators and entrepreneurs and turn their ideas into products and prototypes, adding that the parks are also designed to provide broadband services and to have access to constant power supply

The inspection by the NCC’s boss at the weekend was part of the routine visits to ensure close monitoring and effective supervision of important projects that will have great impacts on the country’s socio-economic development.

During the visit, the EVC, who was accompanied by the NCC’s Head of Projects, Philip Eretan, and the EVC’s Chief of Staff, Malam Hafiz Shehu, and the Special Adviser to the Kano State Governor, Prof. Yusif Alhassan, emphasized the need for the contractors to expedite efforts in completing the project on schedule.

Addressing the contractors, Danbatta said that both the Federal and the State governments are following the progress being made at the construction site with keen interest owing to the value addition the project would make not only to the economy of the North-West geo-political zone but also to the country as a whole.

“This is a project that Nigerians are eagerly waiting to be completed. The Federal Government and the State government are following it with keen interest, and at NCC, our responsibility is to ensure that there’s no further delay in delivery as we have been doing everything possible to ensure that we have the project commissioned in the next few months.

“While I promise you that we will give you all the support you need, I also demand that progress report to be sent to me fortnightly over the two months period in order to ensure effective monitoring by us at NCC,” he said.

Speaking further, the EVC commended the State Governor for proving land at a prime location in Kano for the project, which he said is an indication of the value the government attaches to the project.

The EVC’s latest visit was sequel to a similar visit to the construction site in July 2022 and other visits he had made much earlier, essentially to assess the level of work that has been done so far to ensure that the project is delivered within the set deadline.

During the July 2022 visit to the construction site, Danbatta pointed out that the project was conceived to support the Federal Government’s digital drive by facilitating the availability and accessibility of digital services across the country, and promoting their adoption and usage across all sectors, as well as providing youth employment in the country.

“The idea of putting these two things (i.e., skill acquisition and innovation) at the forefront of this very important initiative is to produce youths that can be self-reliant, generate employment for themselves and other Nigerians,” he said.

Danbatta had also stressed that no part of the country would be left out in benefitting from the initiative

According to him “the project is another move to boost youth digital skills acquisition, promote innovations, provide jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth and ultimately support the overall digital economy agenda of the Federal Government,”