By Tony Adibe
The Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has said that the dire need for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy from mono oil economy, could easily be achieved through the emerging information technology.
Governor Mbah said this on Wednesday during the official commissioning of the South East Zonal Office of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, in Enugu.
Mbah, who performed the official tape-cutting to declare the office structure open, said that there was compelling need to diversify the economy which he believed that investment into the Information Technology space would do the magic. He also said that the gesture would open more horizon for the teeming Nigerian youths and move the country closer to their dream of diversifying the economic stream.
“I’ll first of all say that the need and urgency to diversify our economy, both at national and sub-national level has never been more compelling than now and there are few sectors that hold the opportunities for us to accomplish that like the Information Technology space.”
He, however, said that merely having the opportunities without bringing them to fruition will not bring about the desired need to diversify the economy and expressed optimism that the citing of the office complex was a move in the right direction to actualise the dream.
According to him, “Just having the opportunities without bringing them to fruition won’t just cut it for us. The fact that the opportunities exist, we must earn it first and for me, I think that is what the building here represents.
“It is an opportunity for our teeming youths to have a platform to improve themselves to a lifelong skills set that will prepare them for the dynamic global world space today and tomorrow.”
Expressing gratitude to the management and the executives of NITDA for sitting the office in Enugu, Mbah said: “I commission this structure, confident that it will open a new horizon for our youths, and it will generally move us closer to our dream to diversify the economic stream.”
Earlier, before the commissioning, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani said that the Enugu Zonal Office would serve as “a permanent bridge between national policy and local potential.”
Tijani said: “This morning’s commissioning of the NITDA Regional Office in Enugu is far more than the opening of a building. It is the establishment of a permanent bridge between national policy and local potential,” he said, adding that it was in line with the Rewed Hope Agenda of the President to reposition Nigeria for economic fortunes.
“It is a strategic move under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-a commitment to decentralizing opportunity, deepening inclusion, and unlocking the full power of Nigeria’s digital economy across every region.
“By placing NITDA closer to the people-right here in the Southeast-we are saying clearly: no region should have to wait for innovation to reach them. Innovation must grow with them.”
The Minister explained that the NITDA office in Enugu would serve as an engine room for digital skills development, through programmes like the 3 Million Technical Talent initiative; support for startups and indigenous tech solutions; regulatory advisory, to help businesses thrive within the frameworks that protect Nigerians, and closer partnerships with state governments, academia, and the private sector.
