The Nigerian government has approved the building of the first National ICT park.
The approval was given at the Federal Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, 10th of February, 2021.
This followed the presentation of a memo by the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami.
The Park is the first of its kind due to its nature, activities and the state-of-the-art facilities it will have.
The Park will also accommodate the National ICT Exhibition Centre, and Museum for ICT and postal services, to showcase technology-related innovations by Nigerians.
In a statement by the Technical Assistant IT to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Femi Adeluyi “The National ICT Park will be supported by the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (NDIEC) that was earlier presented by the Honourable Minister and approved by the FEC on the 11th of November, 2020 and whose groundbreaking was done by Dr Pantami on the 4th of February, 2021. Both (the NDIEC and the Park) are legacy projects of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. All the parastatals of the Ministry will be involved in managing the National Centres”
“The National ICT Park would be a focal point for the supervision of both public and private ICT hubs in the country.
“The N8.9billion Park will be built on a 4,200 square meter land. The Park will serve as a centre for National ICT Policy formulation, Research and Development. Through it, the Federal Government will provide the enabling environment for creative Nigerians to come up with innovative technologies.”
Benefits
He also explained: “The Park will also have a number of benefits including boosting the digital economy, provision of space and environment for the growth of innovation driven enterprises (IDEs), serving as an incubator for cutting-edge technology and a mentorship platform for innovators, amongst others. It will provide a central location for Nigerian innovators with vibrant and developmental ideas to receive mentorship and all that they need to thrive”
Dr. Pantami also appreciated the President noting that Ministry and the technology ecosystem were grateful for the tremendous support of Mr President for the Digital Economy sector.
He adds that the Ministry will continue to position Nigeria to leverage on technology in order to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy.
Lateefah Ibrahim
