IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Federal Ministry of Communication Technology in collaboration with Cross River State Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has organized a two-day free digital job training workshop for 2000 youths across the state.

According to the Director of e-government, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Mr. Ekworo Macdonald Udeze, the programme was a continuation of the Digital Jobs Africa initiative which started since 2014 for the whole country adding that there was need to complete it in the remaining 19 states.

The Republic of Korea in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) kicked off a three week e-Government capacity building programme on Monday, with about 22, 625 government officers expected to benefit from the scheme.

The programme, which is the 5th In-County training, is expected to cover critical e-government areas, such as: Principle of e-Government; e-Government and security, components and promotion strategies of e-Government; law and institutions; best practices of e-Government in Korea (G2G, G2C&G2B, infra).

No fewer than 22,000 public servants would benefit from the latest collaboration between the Federal Government and the South Korean Government on e-government.

The collabo routed through Korean International Corporation Agency (KOICA) is on capacity building for e-Government initiatives.

There are over 410 MDAs in the country with some of them doing almost the same functions.

Apart from the MDAs, it was learnt that discussions have reached advanced stage between the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited and Ghana's Ministry of Communications and other countries in Africa and Europe on their readiness to tap bandwidth capacity from the new Nigerian satellite to boost connectivity in their respective countries.

After a long and anxious wait, MTN Nigeria, one of the two operators that won the 3.5gigahertz (GHz) spectrum licence dedicated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the deployment of the fifth generation (5G) technology in the country, has finally rolled out the new service. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on the implications of the new technology and why subscribers need to streamline their expectations with current socio-economic realities.

For MTN and its about 70million subscribers in Nigeria, August 24, 2022, is an appointment with history. On that day, MTN led the way to a much-awaited 5G world in Africa’s biggest economy. That day was specifically set aside by the telecoms sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the deployment of 5G technology in the country to begin the journey into a promising future for a technology projected to contribute some $2.2 trillion to the global economy by 2034, according to a 2020 GSMA Intelligence report entitled: The Mobile Economy.

The launching of a new land administration portal called e-GIS by the Lagos State government on Friday is a major development in a state where land is regarded as an equivalent of the oil in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Lagos is the only city in Nigeria where land commands so much value that in its prime locations such as Banana Island, Old Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, land prices are denominated in Dollars upto the equivalent of a billion naira and above for a standard plot of land measuring 1000 square metres.

The Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, Alan Sinfield, has affirmed the company’s support for the ‘Smart City’ initiative of the Lagos State Government.

Speaking at a panel session on ‘Digital Transformation Solutions for Smart Cities’, Sinfield noted the significance of the Smart City master plan of Lagos State and how 9mobile would facilitate its realization, according to a statement from the company.

The ghost workers were fished out by the biometric data implementation committee set up by the state government to find out why the council's wage bill had steadily been on the increase.

Worried by the whopping wage bill in the local government system, the government introduced biometric method of identifying the genuine workers with the aim of fishing out the ghost names that appeared on the wage bill.

Speaking with THISDAY in Umuahia, the chief marketing officer of Broadbased Communications, Mr. Chidi Ibisi, said that the fibre optic network would put Abia on the telecommunications super highway and revolutionalise the healthcare delivery system in the state.

The Abia State Government has unveiled a comprehensive urban renewal and infrastructure development plan aimed at transforming Umuahia into a modern smart city.

These initiatives, which include improvements in public transportation, the relocation of a congested marketplace, and the establishment of a sprawling 2,000-hectare smart city, are designed to enhance economic activities and improve the quality of life for residents.

Speaking with THISDAY in Umuahia, the chief marketing officer of Broadbased Communications, Mr. Chidi Ibisi, said that the fibre optic network would put Abia on the telecommunications super high way and revolutionise the health care delivery system in the state.

About 22,600 government officials will be trained on e-government, Minister of Communication Technology, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, has said.

Shittu spoke at the ongoing Fourth In-Country training on e-governance capacity building programme in Abuja.

The training is organized by the Korean government through the Korean International Corporation Agency (KOICA) 2013-2018) training programme for Nigeria.

Recent reports in the media reveal that Nigerians spend up to N78 billion annually on medical tourism overseas. Early indicators from an ongoing survey show that over 50 percent of respondents have either personally experienced or know of a case of negligence in the course of healthcare service provision in a Nigerian hospital.

IMD’s Smart Cities Index 2025 offers valuable insights into how cities around the world, including those in Africa, are becoming smarter, more connected and more sustainable. According to the report, African cities achieved mixed results, highlighting notable improvements but persistent urban challenges.

• African cities are making progress in becoming smarter and more sustainable
• Cairo is the highest-ranked African city at 117th, highlighting challenges in infrastructure and affordable housing
• Nairobi dropped to 136th, facing growing challenges in basic services, healthcare access, safety, and employment
• Affordable housing, transport infrastructure, and urban density management are critical issues in the rankings

The CEO of the Havel Corporate Concept, an affiliate of Nigerian hardware and data protection firm ioSafe Nigeria, says July is the target release date of a road map for transforming Abuja into a smart city, which also includes a biometric smart card program.

NAN News reports that Dr. Ahmed Badanga says the proposed Abuja Residents Smart Card Project would incorporate biometric data to enable the holders to access government, security, financial, and transportation services, and possibly to make payments. He wants to build “a reliable database of all residents of Abuja to support the proposed smart city,” to “enhance an effective and realistic ecosystem for planning, especially in the provision and delivery of social services and amenities.”<

In an unprecedented move that promises to revolutionise Nigeria’s capital, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is set to commence the transformative Abuja Smart City Project.

The convener of the Abuja Smart City Project, Dr Ahmed Badanga, who made this known yesterday at a roadshow event, underscored the project’s aim which is to harness data and technology to elevate Abuja to the ranks of the world’s most advanced cities.

The chief executive officer, Havel Corporate Concept, an affiliate of iosafe Nigeria, Dr Ahmed Badanga, says the designed road map to Abuja smart city project will be launched in July.

Badanga, who stated this yesterday at a press briefing in Abuja, said the project which is aimed at collaborating with strategic stakeholders, especially the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) would transform Abuja to a city where every service would be at a finger-tip.

In a bold move to address the Federal Capital City’s (FCC) growing power needs and future development, the Deputy Director (Electrical) of the Department of Engineering Service, FCDA, Engr Abdullahi Suleiman Liman, announced that a newly unveiled Electricity Masterplan (EMP) outlines a comprehensive strategy for electrical infrastructure.

Engr. Liman presented this information at the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE Abuja branch technical session of the Monthly General Meeting of July and coincidentally the last general meeting of Engr. Ben Osy Okoh 2-year tenor as the Chairman, which was held virtually due to anti-government protests.

Ahead the Gubernatorial poll on Saturday, the Governorship candidate of the Accord Party, Hakeem Dickson, has unveiled agenda to transform Lagos State as Smart City as well as block all financial loopholes and reckless if elected as the next governor of the state.

Dickson, a former All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain and Chairman, Surulere Local Government, stated this at media parley in his Lekki Office, area of the state.

Broadband supports the development of the digital economy, hence, the reason the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has, over the years, initiated a number of initiatives and policies to achieve 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025.

One of such policies is the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025, which aimed to achieve 60 per cent fibre to towers connection; minimum of 120,000kmfibre infrastructure; fibre along all federal and state roads; fibre along 90 per cent of Local Government Area roads; connecting 100 per cent tertiary institutions to fibre and delivering 25 Megabyte per second internet speed by 2025.