Foreign investments in ICT exceed $42b, says Shittu

The Minister of Communications, Dr Adebayo Shittu said foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the information communication technology (ICT) sector have exceeded $42 billion.

He restated the commitment of the Federal Government to ensuring that the ICT sector realised its full potentials as a viable alternative to the diversification of the economy.

Shittu spoke in Awka, Anambra State capital, during the second Phase Sensitisation Workshop on National ICT roadmap, with The Role of the Private Sector in the Implementation of Nigeria’s ICT Roadmap as theme.

He said: “The purpose of ICT, apart from providing services and convenience, is to increase the revenue base of all societies.

“For Nigeria alone, the present foreign direct investment has exceeded $42billion and you know what that means to the economy.

“The implication is that such huge sum could have been lost without the ICT and if it had not come, you know how many jobs that could have been lost or unavailable, and you know the ripple effect on the larger economy.”

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According to him, Nigeria now boasts of more subscribers than the United Kingdom with over 152 million active telephone lines.

He also said that 97 million Nigerians were now connected to the internet, which places the country on 170 per cent teledensity.

The state governor, Willie Obiano described the workshop as timely, affirming his administration’s compliance to ICT in the business of governance.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, the governor attributed the increase in the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N475million to N1.7billion to the introduction of ICT to the system.

He urged the Federal Government to revive the nation’s energy sector as ICT could not thrive well without adequate power supply.