Foreign News
DIGITAL IDENTITY DAY: ABIA GOVT AWARDS PANTAMI ‘BEST PERFORMING DIGITAL MINISTER
By Mubarak Umar
In recognition of his unprecedented performance in Digital Transformation and National Identity programme of the Federal Government, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has been awarded by Abia State Government as the “Best Performing Digital Minister for the Year 2022”.
The Award, which was received on behalf of the Minister by Dr Agu Collins Agu, Director Research and Development, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is to commend him on the good works he has been doing at the Ministry especially in developing Nigeria’s Digital Economy through promoting the use of digital platforms.
The event is part of activities to mark the International Identity Day 2022, organised by Abia State government through the Office of the Special Assistant on National Identity Management Commission Ecosystem and Related Matters, Princess Glad Chidinma-Apugo Osoagbaka.
Prof. Pantami applauded the Executive Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu for the development of IT infrastructure in the State, and the priority being given to the private sector to integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into the activities of different sectors of Abia economy.
He said, “I accept this award and extend my sincere appreciation to Government and People of Abia State and also to fellow Nigerians for this recognition. It is also a great pleasure that I am receiving this award on the day the world commemorates the International Identity Day.
“I commend the team that put this event together. Abia State, Aba in particular, has a reputation of being a thriving commercial and industrial hub for different types of goods and services, and digital identity can greatly enhance commerce and industrialization,” he added.
The Minister recalled that United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide the ambitious target that all people will be able to obtain a legal identity by 2030 (SDG 16.9)., adding that according to a May 2022 report by the UNDP, there is still a huge identity gap with nearly 1 billion people unable to prove who they are.
He added that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa rightly noted that “Digital Identity and the digital economy are not only linked, but are also, reinforcing, as digital ID is the basis for digital economy platforms. Digital identification can be an important catalyst for various development initiatives in the continent, impacting on trade, governance, social protection, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilization, as well as security and human rights.”
Prof. Pantami said, digital identity is the fabric of the digital economy and by expanding the digital identity database, Nigeria has positioned itself to reap the benefits of embracing the digital economy in a sustainable way.
According to him, Nigeria recorded significant increase in enrolment records from 41m in August 2020, when NIMC was put under the Ministry’s supervision, to about 89m as at August 2022, 48m additional enrollment in 24 months, a remarkable achievement in National Identification Number (NIN) issuance.
He said, “I had the privilege of speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2022, alongside the WEF Chairman Kalus Schwab and one recurring theme in the different sessions was the importance of the digital economy in every aspect of our lives.
This realisation became more apparent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same vein, as the Chairman of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2022, I am leading efforts to promote the importance of the digital economy in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
“The Digital Economy has also proven to be a veritable platform for the creation of jobs. For example, in 2017 alone, the digital economy contributed 5.1million jobs to the economy of the United States. An official report in China also noted that digital economy created 191 million jobs in the country in 2018 and this was about 25% of the total employment generated that year.
“In Nigeria, the digital economy has played a key part in developing the different sectors of our digital economy. One key example is how the digital economy helped us to exit recession as a nation. The ICT sector was the fastest growing sector in both the fourth quarter of 2020 and the entire year 2020, based on the Report by the National Bureau of Statistics.
He stressed that the sector’s 14.70% double digit growth rate played a principal role in supporting Nigeria to exit the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic a year faster than experts predicted.
The growth rate of the sector exceeded 4 times the next fastest growing sector of Q4 2020, which had a growth rate of 3.42%. I am also very pleased to let you know that the ICT sector recorded an unprecedented contribution of 18.44% to Nigeria’s GDP in Q2 ‘2022, and this is the highest ever contribution.
“I urge Your Excellency to take advantage of digital ID programmes and solutions to significantly enhance Abia State’s commercial and industrial output,” he concluded.
On his part, the Executive Governor Abia, represented by his deputy, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, appreciated the minister for the support he provided to help the state achieved a lot within the short period of time.
He said the Ministry has assisted Abia in the development of data collection, as Data enabled the state necessary information that provide access to the knowledge of number of people irrespective of their gender and age difference.
“When were searching for means to develop various types of data, it was the result of what the ministry was doing that made us keyed into this programme. We know whatever the Ministry was trying to do would be comprehensive.
“I thank the Honourable Minister for the support he is giving to us, and also congratulate him for receiving this deserving award from Abia people,” he added.
Foreign News
EKWEREMADU : DABIRI-EREWA PLEADS FOR COMPASSION
AJAGBE ADEYEMl TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has joined others in pleading with the UK government to show leniency with former Nigeria Deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu awaiting the verdict of the court on organ harvesting.
EKWEREMADU
In a statement by Abdur-Rahman Balogun Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocols of NIDCOM in Abuja, she pleaded with the court to show compassion and sympathy in this case
” I join men and women of goodwill to plead for clemency for Sen. Ike Ekweremadu , if only even considering the psychological trauma, Sonia , the daughter, would be going through knowing that her parents are in jail because they tried to save her from a health condition she had no control over”, Dabiri-Erewa pleaded.
Dabiri-Erewa who reiterated her pleas, implored the UK government to temper justice with mercy, admitted that “mistakes have been made , and lessons learnt”.
The NIDCOM boss posited that though there is no ignorance before the law, Ekweremadu and his wife acted under natural instincts of parents to save an ailing daughter, and not for commercial purposes
Foreign News
DABIRI-EREWA BAGS YET ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL HONOR
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Shri Gangandharanian Balasubramanian has honored Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), for her excellent contributions to Nigeria Diaspora especially women in the area of rescue and rehabilitation, supporting democracy and legislative reforms by enabling laws in favour of freedom and non-violence.
The Indian High Commissioner stated this when He conferred the Honor on the NIDCOM Boss in Abuja, during the celebration of some Nigerian Women Achievers and the launch of Indian Women Association, Abuja Chapter.
Balasubramanian added that every woman is an achiever in all aspects of their lives and this year ‘s celebration is to recognize few wonderful achievers both in India and Nigeria. He is certain that this tradition will continue as an annual event in the years to come.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa expressed her gratitude to the Indian High Commission for honoring her amongst the very few Nigerian Women. She added that NiDCOM will continue to strengthen ties between Nigerian-Indian Diaspora and the Global Diaspora.
The NiDCOM boss highlighted the contributory roles of women to National Development. According to her, “ as a woman, one has to work three times harder, because your mistakes are more noticeable but as a woman I am grateful for men who support and recognize the efforts of women who are blazing the trail across all sectors of the economy”.
She concluded that the Indian Diaspora is a powerful force to its National Development and promise to do same with the Nigerian Diaspora to fast track Nigeria’s technological advancement.
Foreign News
Chizoba: FG Will Demand Full Investigation into Her Death in Ethiopian Prison- Dabiri-Erewa
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
The Nigerian Mission in Ethiopia will demand full investigation into the circumstances that led to the death.of a Nigerian, Chizoba Favor Eze ,in Ethiopian Prison.
Abike-Dabiri
Reacting to the reported death of Chizobia Eze, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/ CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) said the Commission is in contact with the Nigerian Mission in Ethiopia and the
circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident will be thoroughly looked into.
She expressed concern over the reported conditions of some Nigerians, serving various jail terms in Ethiopia, most of whom were drug related.
She also said the Nigerian Mission in Ethiopia has proposed an MOU from the Nigerian Correctional Service on transfer of sentenced persons to Nigeria with the Ethiopian authorities to complete their respective jail terms in Nigeria, and are awaiting a response from Ethiopia , adding that though Ethiopia had granted an amnesty to Nigerian Prisoners in 2019 , a number of them still found their way back to the country and allegedly still committed the same drug related crimes and were re- arrested.
The NIDCOM boss sent her deepest condolences to the family of Chizoba,
who was said to have died in Kaliti Prison , Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on sunday March 12, 2023 following an alleged physical aggression.
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