Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry can increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 3 percent if it achieves its target of a five-fold increase in broadband penetration by 2017, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications Technology Omobola Johnson has said.
With ICT contribution to the nation’s GDP currently pegged at 8 percent, this could be increased to 11 percent if the targets are met, she said.
According to the Minister, Nigeria’s ICT sector contributes just over 8 percent to GDP.
“If we achieve our targets of a five-fold increase in broadband penetration by 2017, from 6 percent to 30 percent, we will deliver through broadband, a phenomenal 3 per cent increase in GDP,” she explained, adding that the National Broadband Strategy and Roadmap will “articulate” how Nigeria will deliver its broadband targets across different tiers of governance.
The National Broadband Strategy and Roadmap which was approved and released last year is expected to help revolutionize communications in Nigeria and optimize the nation’s adoption of global best practices in the use of Information and communications technology.
Omobola said the ICT industry is currently working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to deepen broadband penetration, especially in rural communities by rolling-out more infrastructure in the sector.
She however urged state governors to work together with telecommunications operators so that the industry can achieve its goal, adding that the ability of the federal government to roll-out broadband infrastructure fast lies in the hands of state governments.
Nigeria’s state governors hold substantial power within the country’s federal system.
“If state governors allow telecoms infrastructure to be built quickly at reduced cost in their states, it would help deliver all the benefits of broadband in the country before 2017. The demand on existing infrastructure has reached breaking point because the private sector is not investing quickly enough,” she said.
Though challenges are bound to crop up in the process, the Ministry of Communications Technology will resolve them as quickly as possible, Omobola vowed.
