The Federal Government (FG) of Nigeria in partnership with the Korean government has disclosed its tech plan targeted to train over 200,000 civil servants on the e-Government initiative within the next five years to fast-track the migration to paperless government by 2030.
Already, about 1400 civil servants had reportedly been trained under the first phase of the project.
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, Isa Pantami observed that the Ministry in August 2021, signed the agreement with the Korean government through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the implementation of Phase 2 of the e-Government development for Nigeria.
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He stated that Phase 2 of the e-Government development project was developed to enhance capacity for the execution of the e-Government Master Plan with consulting services to the Presidential Council on e-Government.
The project also seeks to expand the delivery of government digital services through the enhancement of the services portal to create increased access to National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment.
Pantami, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, William Alo, would among others, create increased access to NIN enrolment for ordinary people across the Nigerian State.
He explained that the first phase of the project for the e-Government 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 e-Government master plan that would guide the adoption and implementation of the e-Governance programme in the country, was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in August 2019.
Pantami noted that the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under the first phase, embarked on the process of developing policies, frameworks and strategies for robust implementation of e-Governance initiatives in federal government institutions and the country at large.
The minister further notified 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 e-Government 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 would be funded by the KOICA’s grant, was expected to enhance capacity for the further execution of key initiatives of the National e-Government Master Plan, competencies for the e-Government service delivery, and the development of the Government Service Portal.
Speaking at the event, the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim YoungChae noted that the project signified the friendly and thriving bilateral relations between the Nigerian Government and the Korean Government which had existed for over 40 years.
He observed that Korea’s success in e-Government development was portrayed as one of the world’s best success stories, adding there were many aspects of unique Korean experiences that could be adapted to suit other partner countries.
The envoy noted the continued partnership in this field between Nigeria and Korea had provided an active platform for both countries to collaborate and make the most of the experiences Korea had thus far gone through.
On his part, the Programme Director of the KOICA, Nigeria Division, 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.” The professor disclosed.
This kind of initiative, which deserves sustenance, ought to be given the actual support it requires to excel. Taking into cognizance that the world is gradually leaving the manual pattern behind, any country that truly needs to grow shouldn’t be informed or reminded of the compelling need to fully key into the digital pattern.
In view of this, the government is expected to expedite actions towards ensuring the lofty initiative isn’t only taken to the peak level, but becomes a thorough indigenous affair without involving collaboration of any foreign expertise.