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FG Approves E-govt Master Plan, Mulls Executive Order on OGP
The Federal Government has approved its e-government master plan to ensure all government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, are delivered electronically.
It also said an Executive Order on Open Government Partnership, OGP, has been drafted to strengthen the country’s capacity to rank higher in the next Global Open Budget Index.
Ministers of Communication and Justice, Adebayo Shittu and Abubakar Malami, stated these separately at the 4th National Steering Committee meeting of the OGP in Abuja on Tuesday.
Shittu also said the Federal Government would establish an e-government services company, through the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), to provide platform for the masses to reach those in government and access direct information on all government activities.
He said: “Only recently, we received the Federal Government’s approval for the e-government master plan, which is a policy formulated drafted by the Ministry of Communications about two or three years ago.
We are working on that to ensure that we internalise this policy throughout the spectrum of government.
“Through the NIPOST, we are trying to establish an e-government services company which would enable the ordinary masses of this country to be able to reach the government and be able to access all of government information apart from the services that the government offers in various ways.
“I want to assure this gathering that within the next couple of months, this new e-government services company would along with other new companies we plan to register and establish for the benefit of Nigerians.”
Speaking on the proposed Executive Order on OGP, Malami said the government would ensure that openness and transparency were embedded within the Federal Government’s reform agenda; so that OGP would remain an agenda of government beyond 2019.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice further said the Federal Government had also put measures in place to ensure that all federal MDAs set up OGP units under the Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement.
According to him, the OGP Secretariat has been directed to work with the Head of Service to ensure that a service-wide circular is issued with a view to implementing the recently approved Federal Executive Council memo on OGP.
He listed some of the progresses made by the country on the internalisation of OGP processes to include; publishing of more budget related documents than previous governments, release of the full audit report on 2016 budget, the improvement and pilot testing of the new National Open Contracting Platform, and the efforts made to publish Public Register of Beneficial Owners of Corporate Entities.
Malami, who was represented at the meeting by the Minister of state, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed said: “The OGP Secretariat has drafted an Executive Order on Open Government Partnership for your review and comments.
“The Executive Order seeks to strengthen the capacity and structure of the OGP Secretariat, ensure that it is fully embedded within the Federal Government’s reform agenda and provide it with quasi legal mandate pending when a legal framework can be developed and approved.
This is with a view to ensuring that OGP remains an agenda of the Government of Nigeria beyond 2019.”
News
Prof. Aliyu, AI Practitioner to Keynote ABoICT 2024
CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.
Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.
This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.
The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.
According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.
He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.
“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.
A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.
He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.
Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.
He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.
Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.
Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.
Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.
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Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
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