The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has disclosed that data Price will drop by 60% by 2025.
Dr. Pantami said this will be achievable with what the ministry has put in place in terms of infrastructure and government making ICT infrastructures as national infrastructure.
The Minister made this projection at the official opening of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) training programme organized for ICT Journalists with the theme “Digital Skills in News Reportage For ICT Journalists”.
Dr. Pantami said that high cost of right of way, provision of security for Telecom infrastructure by Telecom provider are responsible for the high cost Nigerians pay for Telecom services. He said, now that the Federal Government has taking that burden off providers: Nigerians will pay 40% of what it currently cost them to buy data.
“By 2025 Nigerians will pay 40% of what data cost them now” , he reiterated.
Speaking further, he said: “In the ministry, we are working on restructuring all the departments because most of them are obsolete. We will have many critical departments that will focus on digital innovation, entrepreneurship, digital economy and more to make sure that we are on the right track for a digital Nigeria.”
He hinted on the need for Nigeria to join rest of the countries that have preference of skills over certificate when employing workers, saying what is most important is not the certificate but the skill. Many developed nations are promoting skills rather than certificate.
Dr Pantami said the improvement on infrastructure has pushed up broadband penetration from 30 percent to 40.18 within the past one year.
“In the ministry; we are working on restructuring all the departments, because most of them are obsolete: we will have many critical departments that will focus on digital innovation, entrapreneurship, digital economy and many more to make sure that we are on right track for a digital Nigeria,“the Minister added.
The minister said the ministry, through its agencies, needs to train journalists who are major players in the country’s efforts to drive home the digital Nigeria economic policy.
“Digital Nigeria cannot be achieved without training people who will play a key role in ensuring that we achieve that digital Nigeria. Journalists have a role to play, most importantly our ICT journalists or multimedia journalists as the case may be.
“It is because of this reason that we feel on the top of our priority that you (journalists) are the first to start benefiting from this training before others,” he explained.