Three ICT Parks in Katsina , Gombe and Ibadan are now being constructed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as part of efforts to digitise the Nigerian economy.
NCC Chairman, Prof. Adeola Akande who disclosed this information in Ibadan at the weekend said the Ibadan Park will gulp N500 million.
“The NCC through the Universal Service Provision Fund and the telecommunication companies are presently undertaking many projects to boost telecoms service,” he said.
He said that NCC will construct ICT Parks in Ibadan, South West Nigeria as well as in Gombe and Katsina in the northern part of Nigeria before the end of the year.
“All these programmes are designed to meet the objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari who re-designated the Ministry of Communications as Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. A digital economy is impossible without the widespread availability of telecommunications services and a population that is literate in ICT’’ he said.
Akande further said that the Commission is also working on other projects to improve the welfare of society.
“We have endowed a professorial chair on Telecommunication Studies at the University of Ibadan’’. We are constructing a Knowledge Service Centre at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education in Oyo and we shall soon begin work on an ICT park in Ibadan costing N500 million.We are also bringing campus-wide internet service to the Oke Ogun Polytechnic’’.
“Many secondary schools in Ogbomosho, Oyo, Ibadan, Ibarapa and Oke Ogun will benefit from the Knowledge Service Centres to be constructed by the USPF and NCC this year’’, Akande added.
“In the past few months, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has trained hundreds of thousands of youths in telecommunication services.The NCC will complement this effort with training programme for youths in Digital Job Creation across the country’’, he concluded.
…from Agency reports