Expanding People’s Access To Government Services

By most accounts, all
the facets of human endeavour in the contemporary world are driven by Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Observers note that Nigeria is striving to catch up with the trend in order not to be left out in the ICT-based civilisation of the 21st Century.
In demonstration of the country’s determination to adopt global best practices in ICT applications, the Ministry of Communication Technology recently inaugurated a single window website: the Government Service Portal.
It is a website where anyone can have access to all kinds of information about Nigeria, ranging from government to citizens, business and foreign national services.
The inauguration in April was in line with Nigeria’s efforts to join the global initiative of “getting government online’’ to improve public service delivery to the citizens.
Few months after its inauguration, observers have described the website as a veritable channel for the citizens to access timely information about government services.
They noted that the government could, via the website, also get feedback on the citizens’ reactions to various topical issues.
The contents of the portal, which is being managed by the Ministry of Communication Technology, are currently available in three languages — English, French and Spanish
At the website’s inauguration in Abuja, the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, said that it was just one of the ministry’s projects aimed at stepping up ICT use in the country. According to her, the portal— www.services.gov.ng – will also enable the people to have access to information on the services provided by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
She listed some of the newly-automated processes and services that were already available on the portal as patent and trademark registration, evaluation and accreditation of academic certificates and farmers’ registration.
Others include registration and accreditation of seed companies, seeds’ import and export permits, application for spectrum licence, licensing procedures for class type licence and licensing procedures for individual type licence.
Johnson noted that the project was the outcome of a survey which the United Nations (UN) carried out across 48 countries on “Innovative e-Government Practices’’ among nations.
Their finding is that citizen service delivery is topmost on the government innovative technology adoption all over the world.
Thus, governments’ use of the Internet to deliver government services has revolutionised the speed and effectiveness of government service delivery and public administration across the world.
Therefore, governments increasingly recognise that e-government offers not just a new technology but also a mechanism to transform the way government operates; and we can no longer be left behind,’’ she said.
However, Johnson noted that a number of government services, which were rendered by various MDAs, could now be accessed online via the new website.
“What we have done is that we developed a single point of entry for Nigerians and other stakeholders to access government services online.
With this website, you can tell from a single point, what is exactly available as to the government services online,’’ she added.
The minister stressed that in addition to creating a single window of entry into government services; the ministry would liaise and work with other ministries to introduce subsidiary online services.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Henry Akpan, said that the portal would promote investments that would enhance the wellbeing of Nigerians.
“The services portal will not only give access to government information, services or processes, but it will also give businesses as well as other stakeholders the means to reach the government. “By doing so, citizens and businesses will benefit in terms of saving costs, time and efforts, while the government will also gain through service-citizen engagement, feedback and trust,’’ he said.
The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Plc., Mr Gerald Ilukwe, said that even though Galaxy was the main ICT service provider for Federal Government establishments; the company was only a key partner in the website project.
He said that his company only functioned as the technology enabler, providing a robust and secure platform through which services could be provided or accessed.
He pledged that the company would continue to work hard to improve the citizens’ confidence in the government service portal by ensuring its smooth operations.
“We will also continue to make significant efforts in terms of building all sorts of software and hardware protection for the website. Galaxy Backbone, with the support of the ministry, the Federal Government and the National Assembly, has been able to make some investments in ICT infrastructure development,’’ he said.
Nevertheless, Ilukwe underscored the need for separation of roles between the policy/programme coordinator, the technology provider/enabler and the online service owner/provider for the success of the new venture.
“Similar programmes have failed in the past due to confusion and overlapping roles,’’ he added.
All the same, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, said that the portal would stimulate the transformation of Nigeria into a country with a conducive business environment.
Dikko, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Bashar Yusuf, noted that the cost of doing business in Nigeria was hitherto cumbersome, adding that the development accounted for the recent poor economic rating of the country.
However,  the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on ICT, Rep. Shehu Gusau, urged the ministry to collaborate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sensitise all the Nigerian embassies abroad to the use of the portal to attract investments into the country.
The lawmaker also advised the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to provide Nigerians with hitch-free Internet access to enable them to use the portal, especially in the rural areas.
Observers maintain that all things being equal, the Government Service Portal will spur national development, as vital information about government services will be readily available to all and sundry.
Emmanuel Olaniruha writes from NAN

Emmanuel Olaniruha