Oyo State:The Pace Setter State. News|Discussions|Projects

The federal government has attributed the lingering insecurity in Kaduna, Zaria and some parts of North-central geopolitical zone of the country to the main reason why it is shifting its telecommunications road map summit from Kaduna to Ibadan in Oyo State, THISDAY has learnt.

The summit will hold between Janauary 22 and 23. A competent source at the Ministry of Communications in Abuja averred that it was better to avoid a region that has become enmeshed in hotbed of indiscriminate killings arising from religious upheavals in recent times. Every arrangement, including hotel bookings and space reservation had to be cancelled as a result of the new development. According to the source, ”There have been reports in the media of allegations and counter allegations still being traded by the army and the Shiite group over the where-about of their leader El-Zakzaky.” While this has further heightened insecurity in the region, he said the government had set up a probe panel to unravel the causes of the crisis.

“This time, government will be careful not to take anything for granted since critical stakeholders are expected at the all-important conference expected to chart a fresh road map for the sector.” the source hinted.
Though the minister, Mr. Adebayo Adebayo, hails from Oyo State, the source added that the decision to move the summit from Kaduna to the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, was not political as it has no bearing with the minister coming from the state. According to him, Ibadan is easily reached from every nook and cranny of the country. Reacting to questions posted via SMS on the summit to the minister, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media on behalf of his principal, said topping the list on the agenda at the event is the fine-tuning of realistic and workable strategies on how to use the Information Communication Technology (ICT) to create jobs for Nigerians.

Adebayo in his inaugural address on assumption of duty had promised to use ICT as the nation’s cash cow to drive the economy through attracting investment into the sector and creating jobs. Because the summit involves all stakeholders, the minister said the plethora of complaints from GSM subscribers will be also holistically tackled once and for all. While the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), is said to be undergoing reforms though without a substantive Postal Master General, the minister added that repositioning the parastatal for greater efficiency will dominate discussion at the retreat. Other areas of focus Shittu said include: “The ICT local content initiative, guaranteeing an enabling environment for ICT development, through creating a level playing field for all operators in the industry. “Creating effective synergies between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), GalaxyBackbone and NIPOST will all be given comprehensive attention.”