Digital Economy Initiative To Make More Nigerian Youths Self-reliant – Danbatta

Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive, Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020 to 2030, is an important intervention approved by the Federal Government to make more Nigerian youths self-reliant.

Danbatta was quoted by Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC Director of Public Affairs, as making this known during the North-West two-week training organized by the commission, aimed at implementing the Federal Government’s policy to lift Nigerians out of poverty, held at Kano Campus of Digital Bridge Institute (DBI).

“We, therefore, express our profound appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari and to our Ministry for making this particular training, which is a practical demonstration of one of the important pillars of the NDEPS 2020-2030, possible,” he pointed out.

The NDEPS is aimed at lifting Nigerians, particularly the youths, out of poverty.

Danbatta urged the Nigerian youths, to put skills acquired as well as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools received during the nationwide digital literacy training exercise to appropriate and legitimate use.

The training, he said, is a brainchild of the Commission, held across each of the six geo-political zones of the country.

Danbatta said the implementation of the recommendations of the committee of experts, as approved by the government, gave rise to the training, which targets 1,000 Nigerian youths to be digitally trained for self-employment.

“The training has provided for you, useful skills, which you have acquired to earn a living for yourself without necessarily relying on the government to give you a job. It is our hope at NCC that you will apply the skills appropriately and impact your friends and associates.

“I also urge you to resist the temptations to sell the laptops and other IT tools you are going to be provided with,” Danbatta told the participants.

“It is consistent with this important policy of President Buhari that the Board of the NCC, two years ago, set up a committee of experts chaired by the former chairman, Ernest Ndukwe, to develop modalities and syllabus for the digital training of youths across the six geo-political zones of the country.”

The objectives of the NDEPS are to support the digital literacy of Nigerian Citizens, businesses, and Government workers and enable them to acquire cutting-edge digital skills.

Others are to achieve a 95 per cent Digital Literacy Level in Nigeria within the next 10 years and to develop a digital education curriculum to meet the current and future needs of the Digital Economy.

Others include ensuring that indigenous technology companies are able to participate actively in the government-funded technology programmes, and to ensure that the policy and regulatory instruments are fit–for–purpose and actually support the digital business environment.

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