The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved N8.9billion contracts for the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, for a new National Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Park in the FCT to coordinate public and private ICT hubs in the country.
The government’s plan is aimed at strengthening and harnessing Nigeria’s abundant ICT potentials with a view to turning Abuja into another Silicon Valley.
The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami while speaking after the virtual meeting presided over by President Buhari, said the government would soon release the timelines for the replacement of BVN with NIN in bank accounts.
Pantami explained that a 4,200 square metres land has already been acquired for the establishment of the ICT Park.
“The wisdom behind the ICT Park is for it to be a centre where public and private ICT hubs are going to be coordinated by the Federal Government of Nigeria, where young innovators with crazy and disruptive ideas will be mentored and all their needs provided for.
“We will provide enabling environment for them to utilise and come up with disruptive technologies.
“This is the first of its kind in Nigeria. We have so many parks and hubs but they are regional. This one will be central and will be a centre of job creation for our teaming youths. It will be a centre where technology will be developed and incubated.
It will play a significant role in reducing unemployment,” he said.
Pantami added that “the Federal Executive Council has approved the memo and we are going to start of establishing it in Abuja and we hope Abuja is going to be another Silicon Valley in Nigeria.”
