By Beauty John, LAFIA
Nasarawa state government has keyed into e-governance and digital economy as a developmental strategy to boost the state’s economy, with a view to set the state on a global pedestal.
The state governor, Abdullahi Sule made this disclosure when delegates of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) visited his office to open a workshop on “Priorities and Expectations for the Development of Nasarawa State E-Government Master Plan”, held in Lafia, Thursday.
The workshop was organized to engage the state government, the state Director General, Bureau for Information Communication Technology (ICT), Ministries and Development Agencies, and other relevant stack-holders so as to map out a suitable plan for digital transformation of Nasarawa state.
Governor Sule noted that digital economy is the way forward, according to him “for those who are yet to understand, the GDP contribution of digital economy for last year was even higher than that of the oil and gas in Nigeria.
“I think going forward, this is a huge improvement for Nigeria, so I want to congratulate Mr President for this initiative , he added.
He welcomed the NITDA team to Nasarawa state, noting that indeed the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy will now get a boost from the training.
Earlier, the Director General of NITDA, Mr Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi said that considering the enormous resources in Nasarawa state and location, keying into E-governance will be beneficial to the residents.
“Looking at the strategic location and resources you have, you can use digital technology to unlock more opportunities for your citizens”.
The DG expressed excitement in the partnership with the state government, explaining that the collaboration will help Nasarawa state to benefit from digital economy.
“Looking at the potentials of digital economy, Nasarawa state is on the right track and will benefit from digital economy. This partnership will help Nasarawa state capture and benefit from digital economy,” he said.
In his remark, the state Director General, Bureau for Information Communication Technology, Mr Shehu Ibrahim welcomed the participants to the workshop.
He explained that the essence of the workshop is to build on the strategy already drafted in order to find a more suitable plan to actualize E- government in the state.
