Minister’s Week In Review

Last week’s (May 13 – 17, 2024) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

INTRO?

Our vision of massively expanding broadband infrastructure for improved connectivity received a major boost last week as I got approval from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting to launch a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which will increase fibre optic coverage across the country to facilitate universal access.

KEY FOCUS

Broadband Infrastructure: To ensure that a larger section of the Nigerian society enjoys the unique benefits of internet connectivity and spur economic activities in remote areas of the country, I received approval to launch a SPV which will take on the responsibility of increasing the nation’s connectivity backbone to a minimum of 125,000km from the current coverage of about 35,000km.

Capacity Development: Positioning Nigeria’s startup ecosystem to attract funding and expertise from global markets and organisations is a key imperative for us, therefore I have received the go-ahead from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to convert an existing property of the Federal Government in San Francisco, USA to a Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Programme Hub known as Nigeria Startup House.

TIMELINE

Monday

My week started with a brainstorm session with some of my aides to discuss a number of new initiatives in the Ministry towards fine-tuning them for effective delivery in the coming months.

Following this session, I headed to the State House, Presidential Villa to attend the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Tuesday

Tuesday started with a meeting of the Special Presidential Panel on Social Investment, hosted by Mr. Wale Edun, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

I then had a press interview to highlight the key initiatives of my Ministry as outlined in my Strategic Blueprint, while noting our achievements as we head towards the first anniversary of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

After this, I joined other cabinet members at the State House, Presidential Villa, for the concluding session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting which started on Monday.

Following the conclusion of the FEC Meeting, I announced two important approvals given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, offering significant opportunities for Nigeria’s digital startup ecosystem. The announcements are:

a) Launch of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will support the delivery of an additional 90,000km of fibre-optic cable to complement Nigeria’s existing connectivity infrastructure and deliver a stronger national backbone for universal access to the internet across the country.

b) Conversion of an existing property of the Federal Government in San Francisco, California, USA to a Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Programme Hub (Nigeria Startup House). The Startup House will be managed by a consortium of Nigerian digital technology companies who will provide non-public funding for its operations.

Wednesday

My first engagement for the day was a strategy workshop with the team from NIPOST led by the Postmaster General, Tola Odeyemi. The meeting focused on the next steps? towards optimising the organisation's assets with a view to designing the most effective operational model and proffering solutions towards reimagining it as the engine for Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

Later in the afternoon, I met with representatives of telecoms companies in Nigeria to deliberate on issues around improving quality of service to customers and addressing the impact of macroeconomic challenges facing operators in the telecoms industry.

Thursday

I announced the commencement of the second cohort of 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme – a key initiative of the Ministry targeted at positioning Nigeria as a net-exporter of talent.

The 3MTT programme has so far trained 30,000 Fellows in key technical skills in demand and will be adding another 270,000 Fellows in this second phase over the next 12 to 18 months.?

Friday

I had a virtual meeting with representatives of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to discuss ways of improving healthcare service delivery to the people by leveraging technology. The meeting was attended by Yomi Arowosafe, Secretary USPF; Jane Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director/CEO, NigComSat; and Abdulmalik Suleiman, representing Galaxy Backbone Managing Director/CEO, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju.

The NPHCDA team which was led by its Director General, Dr. Muyi Aina, also had Dr. Oritseweyimi Ogbe, Director, Special Duties, NPHCDA, and Oghenetega Otomiewo, Technical Adviser, NPHCDA in attendance.

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BLUEPRINT REVIEW

Last week, my activities focused on the Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital and Infrastructure pillar objectives of my Strategic Blueprint as I received approval to launch a SPV – made up of partners and stakeholders from the government and private sector – that will facilitate the increase of Nigeria’s connectivity backbone to a minimum of 125,000km.

My engagements with NIPOST, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and others underscore our efforts towards leveraging innovation and technology for increased productivity and growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.