President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Presidential Council on Digital Economy and E-government on Friday, stating that his administration would adopt the advantages associated with digital technologies to transform every sector of the country’s economy. The President also directed the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami to chair the 27-man committee on his behalf and regularly update him on its progress.
Apart from Pantami, other members of the Council include Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan; Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo.
Others are the Governor of Gombe State, Inuwa Yahaya; Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule; Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
Also on the committee are Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta; Managing Director/CEO, Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. M. B. Abubakar; Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, Dr. Abimbola Alale; Director-General/CEO, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz; Director-General/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa and Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo.
Representatives from relevant stakeholders are also members of the committee.
The President stated that members of the Council who were selected after a thorough process possess the requisite experience and skills to “accelerate achievements in the digital economy and in the implementation of e-government in the country".
