e-Government Summit 2021: FIRS, NCC, others back e-Govt adoption for service delivery

The federal government and other industry stakeholders partnered through e-Government Summit 2021 on Wednesday, September 29, to increase efficiency and service delivery through e-Government adoption.

The e-Government Summit 2021 was held at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos with the theme: “e-Government Adoption in Nigeria: Opportunity and Challenges” had in attendance the industry players  which include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Galaxy Backbone among others.

The organisers of the event were DigiServe Network Services Limited, in partnership with NCC, FIRS, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Association of Licensed Telephone Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

The summit harped on the need to reposition government agencies and parastatals to enable them to take advantage of advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve service delivery to Nigerians.

The e-Government Summit 2021, which is the third edition, also proposed policies, strategies and solutions necessary for governments to deepen technologies into their service delivery processes.

Speaking at the occasion, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the executive vice chairman and chief executive officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the e-Governance is an essential component of the Digital Economy.

Danbatta, who was represented by Barr Adewolu Adeleke, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, said the summit demonstrated collective commitment to the realization of the full potentials of the Digital Economy in Nigeria.

The EVC NCC disclosed that the commission has been working assiduously with all stakeholders to deepen penetration of broadband infrastructure and services which support the growth of e-Governance and other critical Digital Economy objectives throughout Nigeria.

He said “We recently unveiled our Strategic Vision Plan (SVP 2021-2025) which enables us to more effectively align our efforts with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and global best practices.

“Leveraging on the successes we achieved under our previous SVP, we are repositioning both the Commission and the entire industry to facilitate the availability of solid infrastructure and to proliferate digital platforms which effectively and efficiently enable digital inclusion throughout Nigeria.”

On his part, Muhammad Mamman Nami, Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) cited that technological advancement, changing global rules and regulations, growth damages of cities among others, have brought about a lot of changes to the way things are across the spectrum be it in the private sector, public sector or educational institution.

Nami who was represented by Chiaka Ben-Obi, Group Lead, Digital Support Group at FIRS posited that for the government and its ministries, departments and agencies, the way they interact with shareholders at large and deliver at the right time and quality is the reason why the term eGovernment adoption in Nigeria Opportunity and Challengies is timely and could have been a better chance.

Nami while sharing the FIRS experience, said: “I must share that FIRS is not ready to be left behind in this way of transformation. Hence it has been undergoing transformation to tackle the demands by re-engineering its processes and adopting emerging technologies to improve taxpayer experience strengthen the institution, increase revenue generation capability and ultimately economic development of Nigeria.”