Minister's Week In Review

This week’s (December 18 – December 22, 2023) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Monday

I had an early meeting with a delegation from Amazon Web Services (AWS). The team, which consisted of the global company’s Government Lead, West Africa, Nnenna Irebisi; VP of Global Services, Uwem Ukpong; General Manager, Sub Saharan Africa, Amrote Abdella; and Enterprise Lead, West Africa, Kayode Akomolafe, shared ideas on ways to support the Ministry’s Generative AI development efforts and initiatives such as the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme.

Following this meeting, I attended the National Final Awards Ceremony of the ICT competition organised by communications infrastructure company, Huawei. There, I delivered my address, centring on the importance of technology in connecting people and stimulating development.

I then hosted NigComSat Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, and Director, Radio Monitoring & Survey (RM&S), Engr. Chidi Enwerem at my office to discuss effective spectrum management, in particular, to explore ways that assigned frequencies can be monitored remotely.

My final engagement for the day was an extended meeting of the Technical Working Group for Consumer Finance, which had in attendance Wale Edun, Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, Honourable Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment; Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); and other critical stakeholders.

At the meeting, we explored diverse ways of improving Nigeria’s consumer credit system to achieve holistic economic development.

Tuesday

I presided over a first-of-its-kind town hall meeting at the Federal Secretariat. The interactive meeting, which was attended by staff members of the Ministry, featured an address from me, Margaret Ebute, the Acting Permanent Secretary, and a representative of the Workers Union.

I spoke about steps already taken to improve staff welfare and productivity, while highlighting plans to further improve welfare in the coming year. Some members of staff took the opportunity to ask pertinent questions regarding my roadmap for the Ministry, while expressing their support towards achieving our set goals.

I then attended a retreat on digitisation in the civil service organised by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation. My address at the event focused on the need to develop the Nigeria Stack as a foundation for establishing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) which is a key component of improving service delivery in government.

In the evening, I headed for the State House to attend the Christmas carol service attended by senior government functionaries including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Later on Tuesday, I announced the list of 45 National Artificial Intelligence Research Grant Scheme (NAIRS) grantees who are poised to propel Nigeria's tech landscape onto the global stage. Proposals for the scheme were evaluated by 25 distinguished Nigerian AI experts from across the world based on set criteria.

Wednesday

I travelled to Abeokuta to attend the homecoming reception organised by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo in honour of me and Wale Edun, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

While in Abeokuta, the state capital, we were also warmly received by H.E. Dr. Dapo Abiodun, the Executive Governor of Ogun State. The Governor expressed his delight at our visit while also acknowledging our significant contributions towards the growth and progress of the nation.

I later announced the launch of Build-A-Thon, an initiative targeted at introducing 1,500 senior secondary school students across 3 major Nigerian cities to the maker culture. The Build-A-Thon initiative is part of my strategic plan to promote early-technology adoption to shape tomorrow's innovation leaders.

Thursday

Back in Abuja, I presided over my first National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) meeting where I outlined the framework that will guide the meeting under my leadership. At the meeting which was attended by various stakeholders, I stated the importance of research in guiding the actions of the Council so as to produce expected outcomes.

I later had a virtual meeting with representatives of Nokia. Discussions at the meeting, which also had in attendance Idris Alubankudi, the Special Adviser to the President on Technology and Digital Economy, centred on infrastructural development, security, and training initiatives such as the 3MTT programme.

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It has been an amazing year, full of energy and hope for a better Nigeria. Thank you all for your support and participation in our programmes.

We’re committed to delivering on our mandate and looking forward to an even more exciting year ahead, with deliberate and intentional engagement across our different initiatives that will grow our digital economy.

Enjoy the holidays, and see you in 2024!