Minister's Week In Review

This week’s (February 19 – 23, 2024) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This week, we made significant progress in our efforts to facilitate broadband for all Nigerians, deepened partnerships to leverage Artificial Intelligence for development, and announced our plans for the rollout of the next phase of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme.

FOCUS AREAS

1. Access to Broadband: To facilitate increased access to broadband in government, I was pleased to launch Project 774 LG Connectivity, which will leverage existing infrastructure from NigComSat Limited and Galaxy Backbone to provide connectivity to all 774 Local Government Secretariats across Nigeria. The landing of the 2Africa Subsea cable in Qua Iboe, Akwa Ibom, during the week was also a significant milestone in the journey towards connectivity for all.

2. AI for Development: We continued working on plans to develop a comprehensive AI strategy for Nigeria, and as part of this, I met with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) this week to firm up plans towards organising an Artificial Intelligence co-creation workshop in March. I also discussed possible collaborations in digital technology and leveraging Artificial Intelligence for development with Dr Felix Tan of the University of New South Wales, who was part of an Australian Trade Delegation.

3. Talent Accelerator: The 3MTT Programme is concluding its prototype phase this month, and we confirmed the date for the announcement of the next set of 270,000 fellows for the Pilot phase. In addition, to achieve smooth execution and scaling of the next Pilot phase, we onboarded 37 Community Managers at a 2-day orientation programme in Abuja. These Community Managers are tasked with managing learners and activating the 3MTT community across the 36 states and the FCT.

TIMELINE

Monday

I had a media appearance on Channels TV where, among other topics discussed, I announced the launch of Project 774 LG Connectivity, which aims to provide internet connectivity to all Local Government Secretariats across Nigeria.

Later in the day, representatives of Phase 3 Telecom, led by their Executive Chairman, Stanley Jegede, met with me to outline their plans to support our broadband goals.

The day ended with a visit to NigComSat Limited, where I was hosted by Jane Egerton-Idehen, MD/CEO of NigComSat.

Tuesday

I attended the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) meeting and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC). Both meetings which held at the Presidential Villa, were presided over by the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima.

Following those meetings, I joined the 3MTT Community Manager orientation event, where I engaged our new Community Managers as they start their journey as champions of the programme in the 36 states and the FCT.

Wednesday

I presided over my regular meeting with the Directors of the Ministry, which this week included the newly appointed Permanent Secretary, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo.

I then met with Bunmi Okunowo, Senior Program Officer, Digital Capabilities, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Osasuyi Dirisu, Executive Director, Policy Innovation Centre, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), to discuss plans for our AI Strategy workshop scheduled for March 2024.

Dr. Felix Tan of the University of New South Wales also met with me to discuss digital transformation strategies, including leveraging AI for development.

My next meeting was with Akintunde Sawyer, Executive Secretary of Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), to discuss areas of collaboration towards the effective deployment of the student loan portal.

My day ended with a meeting with Dr. Michael Sinclair, Executive Director of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.

Thursday

The day started with a meeting with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), led by its Acting Director General, Ignatius Ayewoh, to discuss areas of collaboration for the effective delivery of the Strategic Blueprint.

I was later visited by representatives of the National Agriculture Development Fund (NADF) led by their Executive Secretary, Muhammad Abu Ibrahim.

Friday

I held a follow-up meeting with the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to further review the functionality of the student loan portal.

I later proceeded to the office of the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, where I presented the report of the Presidential Steering Committee on the review of IPPIS, GIFMIS and TSA before returning to the office to take a meeting with Dilip Parajuli, Senior Economist, Education Global Practice, World Bank, to explore opportunities for collaboration in training and education.

I had a very positive session with a delegation from the National Population Commission (NPC), led by its Chairman, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, to discuss the use of technology in collecting and sharing data for effective policy making.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) team, led by Oluwatobiloba Moody, Director, Nigeria Office, visited me to express their commitment to supporting our key projects, especially in the area of IP protection.

My final engagement of the day was a courtesy visit by the Corporate Council Africa (CCA) to identify areas of support for our Ministry as we drive to achieve our key objectives. The team was led by its Senior Program Director, Biova Kabine.

BLUEPRINT REVIEW

This week, our activities put our Infrastructure, Knowledge, and Innovation/Entrepreneurship/Capital pillar objectives on the front burner as we launched Project 774 LG Connectivity, outlined plans for the next phase of 3MTT, which included the engagement of 37 Community Managers to support effective rollout across Nigeria, and participated in the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) meetings presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima.