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Digital inclusion is a gateway to achieving the agenda for ‘Digital Nigeria’ and underscores why the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is actively accelerating digital inclusion in Nigeria by taking advantage of the spread of existing infrastructure across the country, focusing on skills rather than degrees; and progressively increasing the contribution of digital technologies to the economy, said Director General of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.
The NITDA’s boss made the remark at the recent virtual Digital PayExpo 2020 with the theme “Emerging Technologies and the National Digital Economy Plan”.
In its 20th edition, the Digital PayExpo conference is a platform that explores Africa’s digital payments industry. The event attracts hundreds of C-Suite executives including bankers, investors, startups, policymakers, and development professionals.
Abdullahi said the conference is happening at an auspicious moment when digital payments technology is redefining the global marketplace with the emergence of COVID 19 pandemic.
His words: “Technology is the way forward in communications and other activities like meetings, prescriptions by doctors, conferences and other related activities which has aid the implementations of policies and strategies for the growth and development of our country.
“It is the next oil, simply because of its rise in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product which has paved way for the creations of jobs directly or indirectly and also an avenue for flow of revenue to the country. Everything is evolving around technology and with technology work and activities are done at ease and reduces the cost of implementation at the end of the day.”
He said since the implementation of its IT roadmap, NITDA has prepared Nigeria and created ways for the adoption of the 4th industrial revolution which will serve as the yard stick for the digitalisation of the country’s mode of operation and the economy at large.
He added that the impact of technology has gradually yield positive result, through skills acquisition, job creation, promotion of government service, capacity building carried out by the agency at different geopolitical zones in the country – all of which have helped to deepen the penetration of IT in Nigeria.
