The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said that President Bola Tinubu’s policies are building capacity and creating new opportunities in Nigeria’s digital economy and will facilitate global competition for the country.
The TMSG said in a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo that expanding the digital economy ranks high in the administration’s goal of diversifying the economy through industrialization, technology, and innovation.
“One of the 8 priorities areas of the administration which it outlined on assuming office was to use technology and innovation to diversify the national economy.
“It is not surprising that in the last 20 months, President Tinubu has shown a commitment to boosting the country’s investment profile in the global digital community.
“There is an ongoing effort to ensure digital/broadband connectivity in all 774 local government council secretariats across the country. The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is also driving a $2 billion investment in 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to ensure efficient nationwide broadband coverage.
“We believe that upon successful completion of this key project, Nigeria will have the third-longest fibre network in Africa after South Africa and Egypt.
“The Tinubu administration is also driving a 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme to upskill three million Nigerian youths in digital literacy and innovation through innovation incubators nationwide.
“And only a few days ago, the President pledged to remove all obstacles in the path of growth of Fintech companies such as Flutterwave in the digital economy sector, to enable them to become more dominant not only in Africa but also on the global stage.
“This emerged a few weeks after President Bola Tinubu held high-level discussions with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in Paris during which he reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to becoming a global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation.
“We recall that the talks centred around a strategic partnership between Nigeria and Google, with key areas including scalable cloud infrastructure, AI innovation and research, workforce development and cloud computing.
“All these initiatives are geared towards stamping Nigeria’s position as a top-tier tech hub especially as the country is home to several Africa’s leading startups and tech unicorns.
“And for the avoidance of doubt, the President disclosed that the country is building local capacity in AI, through Awarri Technologies, which according to him, is collaborating with the Federal Government to develop critical AI software infrastructure tailored to Nigeria’s unique cultural and linguistic landscape.
“Also noteworthy is that President Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy; the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Federal Ministry of Environment to align regulations and tax frameworks to facilitate investment expansion in telecommunications and broadband infrastructure nationwide.
“And lest we forget, there is a Digital Economy Bill currently before the National Assembly which underlines the commitment of the Tinubu administration to the growth of that sector,” it added.
TMSG expressed optimism that when the Tinubu administration completes its first full term in office, Nigeria will have created a new generation of digital entrepreneurs as well as new job opportunities
