The drive for economic diversification of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government has been boosted by the milestone in the digital economy sector especially the Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Following this development, President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded the effort of the federal government over the $547 million generated from the sale of the 3.5 GHz spectrum to MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications for the provision of the 5G network in Nigeria, describing it as important revenue base for development.
The president made this known in his speech during the commissioning of the National Shared Services Centre (NSSC) in Abuja on Tuesday, adding that the whopping sum of money realised from the spectrum sale was an indication that the digital economy is driving growth, employment and wealth creation in the country.
The huge edifice being managed by the Galaxy Backbone Limited, is located within the Central Business District of the nation’s capital and it hosts a cybersecurity operations centre, network centre and call centre. It is a veritable platform for digital connectivity for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to interface with citizens.
The economic diversification agenda of the current administration has been boosted by the Information, ICT sector and improved the country’s GDP, which according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) contributed an unprecedented 18.44 per cent to the GDP, in the Q2 of 2022 close to three times the 6.33 per cent contribution of the oil sector in the same quarter.
“As part of our efforts to expand our digital infrastructure, we increased our 4G base stations from 13,823 to 36,751 from August 2019 to date, and this has increased the percentage of 4G coverage across the country from 23 per cent to 77.52 per cent, also from August 2019 to date. We have also followed this up with the roll-out of 5G services.
