Her Honour, Olubamiwo Adeosun, Secretary to Oyo State Government (Left) and Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy during the Minister’s visit to Governor’s Office Oyo State while attending the 10th Edition of the National Council on Communications and Digital Economy at Ibadan yesterday.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ibrahim Pantami has again lauded the federal government’s policies aimed at promoting different areas of the digital economy.

Prof Pantami listed the 20 policies to include the flagship National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020 – 2030, and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 – all of which he said have started yielding concrete and positive results for the economy.

The Minister spoke at the opening session of the 10th Edition of the National Council on Communications and Digital Economy held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The Minister who commended the Federal Government for its commitment in providing leadership and guide for industry growth said the recent assessments by the Foreign Development and Commonwealth Office (FDCO) and the KPMG Consulting, which adjudged the communications and digital economy sector as the best performing sector in Nigeria, were based on eight key priority areas.

One of the key areas he said was in revenue generation, “where the sector raised government revenue profile by 594 per cent”

Emphasizing the centrality of digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship to a robust digital economy, the Minister commended the participants for the quality of evaluation, recommendations, and criticisms that attended the memoranda presented at the Council.

He urged the media to give the best coverage to the communique to be issued after the meeting and enjoined professionals in the media systems of communication to note specific recommendations and the corresponding role of each stakeholder in the implementation of each item in the communique.

The Minister announced that 110 memoranda and recommendations were presented to the Council, out of which 67 were approved for Council implementation.

The remaining 43 recommendations according to the Minister are to be reconsidered in the next meeting of the Council.

Pantami thanked the Government of Oyo State and the Olubadan of Ibadan, His Imperial Majesty, Dr. Lekan Ishola Balogun, Alliwo Okumade II, for receiving him and his team on courtesy visit he paid earlier to the Palace, and to the Governor’s Office where Adeosun had earlier received the Minister on behalf of the Governor.

In his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta said the “NCC remains committed to supporting all policies, strategies, plans and initiatives that promote the provision of modern, universal, efficient, reliable, affordable, and easily accessible communications services that will give the widest range throughout Nigeria.”

Rt. Jon. Olusegun Gbeleyi, Board Chairman, Digital Bridge Institute; Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission; and Prof. Sahalu Junaidu, Chief Research Adviser to Minister of Communications and Digital Economy during a visit to Governor of Oyo State.

He also emphasized that it is in demonstration of its commitment that the Commission undertook a timely release of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band for the deployment of 5G services to ensure that Nigerian citizens, businesses, public institutions and other stakeholders are enabled with requisite infrastructure to engage in the emergent digital economy and culture.

The EVC assured that the participants’s commitment to the government’s digital economy agenda has been well demonstrated in the methodical review of the recommendations of the 9th Council meeting, objective identification of achievements, and the frank approach taken to chart the path towards future goals and expectations.

On behalf of the Board and Management of NCC, Danbatta thanked participants for their attendance and active participation, which, he said, attested to the importance they all attached to the promotion of digital economy and culture.

Participants at the conference including the Secretary to Oyo State Government, Olubamiwo Adeosun, who represented His Excellency Oluseyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State applauded the Federal Government’s vision for the sector