FG Tasks States On IT Initiative

The Ministry of Com
munication technology has called on all states in the nation to sign up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its ministry in order to actualize the smart state initiatives.
Minister in charge of the ministry, Dr Omobola Johnson, said this recently at a public function in Bayelsa State.
She said, already, three states (Federal Capital Territory, Cross River and Lagos), are currently enjoying the system.
Johnson, noted that her ministry was considering the possibilities of engaging governors and relevant authorities at the state and federal levels to address the issue of multiple taxation in the country.
She pointed out that such situation has so far, impeded the movement of the rollout of critical infrastructure throughout the country.
She explained that the initiatives, would help the nation to remove all bottle necks associated with the development of ICT infrastructure in Nigeria.
Furthermore, the ministry has called on NIPOST to use the post offices to deploy ICT services across the nation as well as leverage on the existing Public Access Venues (PAV).
Earlier, she has lauded the Bayelsa State Government, for pursuing what she described as Transformation Agenda.
According to her, the platform would also touch “Connect Nigeria,” which would stress on building ICT infrastructure.
She pointed out that the ministry has made some positive impact in its priority areas, adding that it has yielded a number of indicators, which included the tele-density.
Johnson, added active subscription, number of Internet users, and internet penetration as part of the ministry’s  achievements.