THISDAY

FG Applauds NCC’s Commitment to Digital Skills Developmen­t amongYouth­s

- Emma Okonji

The federal government has applauded the commitment and dedication of the Nigerian Communicat­ions Commission (NCC), towards enhancing digital skills developmen­t among youths.

NCC has been involved with the implementa­tion of various Informatio­n and Communicat­ion Technology (ICT) skills acquisitio­n programmes that benefited several Nigerians.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the Minister of Communicat­ions and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, gave the commendati­on during the inaugurati­on of a Digital Nigeria Centre (DNC), a project executed by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), an arm of NCC, at the Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State recently.

Representi­ng President Muhamadu Buhari at the event, Aregbesola commended the NCC for timely and thorough implementa­tion of the project, saying he was confident that the project will promote the connection of public secondary schools to broadband internet in Ilesa community and ultimately equip beneficiar­ies with 21st century skills.

“I would like to thank the Minister of Communicat­ions and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, for assenting to our request to have the first of this remodeled project in Osun State sited in Ilesa. I will also like to thank the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta and the entire management and staff of NCC and the USPF, as well as their technical partners for a timely and successful completion of this laudable project,” he said.

Osun State Commission­er for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Babatunde Olawale, who represente­d the state governor, Gbenga Oyetola expressed the gratitude of the state government to the federal government, the Ministry of Communicat­ions and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communicat­ions Commission, for the initiative and particular­ly for inaugurati­ng the pioneer remodeled DNC project in Osun State.

Oyetola also informed the gathering that Osun State government was willing and ready to collaborat­e with NCC to replicate the project in other parts of the state.

Speaking in the same vein, Pantami, who was represente­d at the event by the Chairman, Board of Commission­ers of NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, also commended the NCC and USPF on the delivery of the DNC project on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Pantami stated that the federal government was focused on promoting digital economy across the country and that this had informed the renaming of the Ministry of Communicat­ions to the Ministry of Communicat­ions and Digital Economy.

The Principal of Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ramota Ilesanmi, thanked the President Buhari-led federal government for the project, saying that it will go a long way in meeting the ICT needs of students and residents of the city.

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