The Federal Government in partnership with the Korean government will train over 200, 000 civil servants on the eGovernment initiative within the next five years to fast track the migration to paperless government by 2030.
Speaking at the flag-off of the Project for Building Foundations towards Digital Governance in Nigeria (2021-2026), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami observed that the Ministry in August 2021, signed the agreement with the Korean government through KOICA for the implementation of Phase 2 of eGovernment development for Nigeria.
He stated that Phase 2 of the eGovernment development project was developed to enhance capacity for the execution of the eGovernment master plan with consulting services to the Presidential Council on eGovernment.
The project also seeks to expand the delivery of government digital services through the enhancement of the services portal to create increased access to NIN enrollment.
Pantami, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, William Alo, will among others, create increased access to NIN enrolment for ordinary people.
He explained that the first phase of the project for eGovernment development in Nigeria commenced in 2013 with the support of KOICA as part of bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and the government of the Republic of Korea, during which the eGovernment master plan that will guide the adoption and implementation of the eGovernance programme in the country was approved by the Federal Executive Council in August 2019.
The minister stated that in order to attain the goals of the project, the Ministry facilitated the President’s approval for the Presidential Council for Digital Economy and eGovernment to serve as a high-level body towards the attainment of the Digital Economy Agenda and the implementation of the Government Digital Strategies.
According to him, the project which will be funded by Korean International Cooperation Agency KOICA’s grant is expected to enhance capacity for the further execution of key initiatives of the National eGovernment Master Plan, competencies for the eGovernment service delivery, and the development of the Government Service Portal.
Speaking at the event, Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Kim YoungChae noted that the project signifies the friendly and thriving bilateral relations between the Nigerian Government and the Korean Government which has existed for over 40 year.
He observed that Korea’s success in eGovernment development is portrayed as one of the world’s best success stories adding that there were many aspects of unique Korean experiences that could be adapted to suit other partner countries.
The envoy noted that the continued partnership in this field between Nigeria and Korea has provided an active platform for both countries to collaborate and make the most of the experiences Korea has gone through.
On his part, Programme Director, KOICA, Nigeria, Prof. Hung Kook-Park, said Korea was hoping that by 2026 Nigeria should have moved from the 140th position in the e-government ranking to be among the first 100.
“Currently Nigeria is ranked 140 in the world’s e-Government index ranking but we want Nigeria to be below 100 by the year 2026.
Source: Guardian
