Shittu: Federal Govt to release ICT blueprint next month

A new blueprint for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry will be out in January, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, said yesterday.

In a statement in Lagos, he said the blueprint would transform and make the ICT industry a new cash-cow for the economy.

“By the grace of God, in mid-January, I will be addressing the country on the blueprint for ICT development.

“We have been receiving a lot of input from stakeholders across the country and from Nigerians in the Diaspora; some of which will form part of the details of the blueprint.

“We have set up two days to do a retreat in Kaduna State in January after which the blueprint will be out.

“Certainly, what you should be assured of is that you have a new minister, who is passionate about development.

“A new minister, who does things the way they should be done, with a view to developing optimally the sector to generate a lot of employment in the economy,’’ he said.

The minister said the planned ICT blueprint would bring about training and retraining of major experts and consequently, generate more revenue for Nigeria.

According to him, government wants to put an end to the dependence on oil, even with the dwindling resources coming through oil.

He assured stakeholders that the Federal Government would continue to encourage local investment in the ICT sector to enhance growth.

thenation