About $1.73 billion Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI), had been attracted to the Nigeria’s Telecommunications and Information Technology sector under the current administration, the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has revealed.
The minister, on Monday also highlighted some unprecedented achievements of the Federal Ministry Communications under his watch in the last three and a half years.
Speaking at a valedictory press conference held in his honour in Abuja, the Minister disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Communication has recorded unprecedented growth under his watch by focusing on five key areas.
He identified infrastructural development and information security, broadband development and improvement of quality of services and access, smart government, human capital capacity building, and local content development as his major areas of focus, ROYAL NEWS reports.
The minister further stressed that the Information and Communication Technology sector has enjoyed broad based growth during the period of the administration under his guidance.
He also stated that Nigeria’s telephone subscribers have risen from 151million in 2015 to 173 million in 2018, a period in which the ministry was able to initiate negotiation on acquiring two new satellites for the country.
Shittu said: “When we came on board NIGCOMSAT only had one satellite, the stage we are now is to engage with foreign companies that will bring the two satellites to the country.
“In the next six months, agreement would have been reached for onward production of the two satellites which will take at least two years to produce by the Chinese company.
“When we get the two satellites it would be able to take the African market to satellites and the country broadband penetration stands at 33% as at March 2019.”
