The leadership of Cisco Africa Team today, Tuesday 13th July 2021, expressed the organisation’s willingness to partner with the country’s Digital Economy sector in order to further drive the vision of the Federal Government in the digitalisation process. This gesture is as a result of the giant strides recorded by the sector under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
Speaking at a virtual meeting initiated by Cisco, the Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Governmental Affairs for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia, Ms Pastora Valero, while commending Dr Pantami on what she described as his unprecedented legacies in the Nigerian Economy in establishing a burgeoning digital sector that has caught global attention, urged the Minister to consider avenues of partnerships and collaborations with Cisco. “We have keenly followed your progress and would very much like to be a part of your vision in driving the sector and are open to partnerships in that regard.”
In her remarks, the Senior Director Policy and Governmental Affairs, Africa, Charmaine Houvet said “Pantami’s policies were in line with global trends and the potential for development in Nigeria cannot be ignored. The leadership that the Honourable Minister has brought to bear in the sector is highly commendable and Cisco is willing to be a part of this journey.”
In his response, Dr Pantami remarked that “we are championing a paradigm shift in the country leveraging on technology to give preference and priority to proven skills over paper qualifications. Particularly, digital skills”. He drew the team’s attention to the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) Document particularly, pillars two and seven, centred around digital literacy and skills and digital societies and emerging technologies, with the objective of capacity building through digital skills acquisition.
Pantami identified the need for partnership in the areas of training and urged Cisco to “establish training academies across Nigeria, especially in underserved areas in order to empower citizens with the requisite skills required to maintain global relevance”.
The Honourable Minister in response to Cisco’s prayers, immediately set up a technical team to draw up a Memorandum of Understanding in that regard.

Uwa Suleiman (Mrs)
Spokesperson to the Honourable Minister of Communications & Digital Economy.
13th July 2021

  Barely 4 days ago, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR commended the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami for the great strides and landmark achievements of the digital economy sector under his supervision.
Similarly, this position of Mr President was upheld today as the Honourable Minister, Dr Pantami bagged the MOST OUTSTANDING MINISTER OF THE YEAR 2021 AWARD presented by Elite Exclusive magazine, a media giant. The Minister was singled out for this honour based on an online poll conducted by the medium.
The Award according to the magazine was in recognition of the exceptional role the minister is playing in sustaining ICT exponential growth, digitization of Nigeria's emerging economy and also positioning Nigeria’s digital economy sector on the path of sustainable National Development.
It is on record that under the reign of Dr Pantami, the ICT sector has the highest growth rate in Nigeria. According to the Q4 2020 Report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the ICT sector contributed an unprecedented 14.70% to GDP.
Furthermore, under the leadership of Dr Pantami, Nigeria reverberated its place as the giant of Africa and leaders in innovation. The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation and the NIN SIM Verification exercise is understudied and implemented by most African countries. Nigeria emerged as the Chairman, West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) unanimously during the 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Assembly held on Thursday, March 11th, 2021.
Smart agriculture, Smart education, ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Indigenous content development are giving a top priority under the leadership of Dr Pantami, in line with the vision of His Excellency, President Buhari to produce what we need and consume what we produce.
Equally, Broadband penetration in Nigeria hit an unprecedented 45.07%, the 2013 resolution of the National Economic Council on a uniform levy for Right of Way is been honoured 7 years after the consensus decision was reached. This among other factors has brought about a significant drop in the cost of data.
Within a space of 1 year, Dr Pantami has commissioned over 55 digital economy projects that spread across all the 36 states of Nigeria. Notable among them include; National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Abuja, ICT Innovation and Incubation Centre, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Emergency Communication Centre, Imo, Owerri State, ATBU ICT Innovation Hub, Bauchi, Bauchi State, and the Digital Economy Centre, Ekiti State.
In the words of the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, "On Wednesday, 21st of August, 2019, when he was sworn in as the minister to oversee the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. Some of us who followed his activities as the Director-General, National Information Technology and Development Agency was convinced that you were going to lift the ministry from where they were to the next level. Knowing you as a thinker, a man that's full of ideas, and a man under whose leadership National Information Technology Agency came up prominently to the fore”.
On the path of Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum “Honestly speaking not because the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy is here with us, the activities of the ministry was not well known to Nigerians before his appointment as a minister to pilot the affairs of the Ministry. We have applauded his competency in handling the affairs of the ministry. He gingered the performance in his ministry making it possible to achieve a lot during a short stay in office.

Source: Mr Yusuf Abubakar, Personal Assistant (New Media) to The Honourable Minister

The effort of positioning Nigeria’s digital economy sector on the path of sustainable development has once more been brought to the spotlight as the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, was conferred with the Digital Economy Driver Award.

The accolade was given by the National Body of Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) to the Minister at his office during a familiarization visit to introduce its new exco on Wednesday, 16th of June 2021. According to NITRA, the Award was in recognition of the Honourable Minister’s efforts in the formulation and implementation of policies to accelerate the digitization of the Nigerian economy.

These efforts led to an ICT sector that had the highest growth rate in the 4th Quarter of 2020, at 14.70%, as attested to by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Q4 2020 Report.  It also led to an increase in broadband penetration to an unprecedented 45.07%, as well as a significant drop in the cost of data.

The Association also acknowledged how the Honourable Minister has given priority to inclusive digital literacy and skills programmes to empower unemployed youths, artisans, women, Persons Living with Disabilities, Public Servants, Farmers, and Community Leaders, among others.

The body noted that they have been following the activities of the Minister and acknowledge the significant transformation in Nigeria’s digital economy landscape as a result of these.  “We appreciate all that you have been doing since your appointment, the digital economy sector has witnessed tremendous success and growth under your stewardship,” the body said.

The NITRA team also commended the Minister for coming up with many people-oriented developmental policies and overseeing their implementation. The body praised the Minister for the ongoing NIN-SIM verification process and identified it as an exercise of great National importance which will accelerate economic National development.

Dr Femi Adeluyi

Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the

Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy

17th of June, 2021

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, was recently honoured with the prestigious 2020 Minister of the Year Award.  The award was coordinated by the Blueprint Newspaper at a ceremony that took place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel on Thursday, 3^rd June 2021.

Dr Pantami came top in the keenly contested award at the Blueprint Newspapers’ 10th year anniversary and 2020 Impact Series/Awards.  He was selected as the winner based on his major achievements in the three major priority areas of the government - Economy, Transparency and Security, and the excellence with which he carried out his task of leading the Communications and Digital Economy sector. 

According to the coordinators of the Award, Dr Pantami stood out as a result of the significant role the ICT sector played in lifting Nigeria out of recession, the rapid development of the digital economy sector under his watch, his exemplary leadership and synergy among the Ministry’s parastatals, to mention but a few.  The ICT was the the fastest growing sector in 2020 and its 14.70% growth rate in the 4^th Quarter of 2020 played a key role in enabling the Nigerian economy exit recession. A total of 23 Emergency Communication Centres were commissioned under his watch and 12 more are almost ready for commissioning.  Over 300 centres were also established to support the growth of the digital economy.

The Awards were graced by the President of the Senate and other leading members of the society.  It had a number of high profile recipients like a former President and some serving governors, who were conferred with awards in various categories for some accomplishments in different endeavours.

The organisers noted that the event was "organised to honour key political actors, individuals and heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who have proved their worth in specific areas of governance such as education, urban renewal and rural infrastructure and the ease of doing business, among others".

The Honourable Minister thanked the organisers for recognising his modest achievements in the Communications and Digital Economy sector.  He also stated that he strongly believes that the Award will further energize he and his team to contribute meaningfully in the service of the country.

Dr Femi Adeluyi
Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the
Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy
5^th of June, 2021

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, chaired a Stakeholders Meeting to review the Rule Making Process and New Regulations for the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).

The meeting took place on Thursday, 11^th of March, 2021 and key stakeholders that participated at the meeting included the Chair, Senate Committee on Telecommunications (represented by the Vice Chair), the Chair, House Committee on Telecommunications, the Chairman of NIPOST, the Postmaster General and CEO of NIPOST, DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC),  the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone Ltd, the Director-General/CEO of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and Director-General/CEO of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).

Others at the meeting included the representatives of the Inspector-General of Police, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service.  Others were the Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO), Nigeria International Air Courier Association (NIACA), Mail Route Partners, and operators such as UPS, Fedex, Courier Plus Services, RedStar and DHL. Wider stakeholder engagement was also conducted as the regulations were been developed.

A vibrant postal service requires the issuance of regulations, standards, guidelines from time to time to guide actions and provide needed clarity for stakeholders. Section 62 of the Nigerian Postal Service Act 1992 empowers the Minister in charge of NIPOST to make regulations that give effect to the provisions of the NIPOST Act. We are in the process of separating Regulations from Operations.

The Rulemaking Process Regulation of NIPOST was issued to activate the regulatory function of NIPOST. The document aims at ensuring an inclusive, stakeholder-led process that takes advantage of the diversity and capacity of Nigerians in various walks of life in order to make the most efficient and value-adding decisions that engender sustainable growth in the sector.

The Courier and Logistics Services (Operations) Regulations aim to provide a regulatory framework for effective and efficient licensing processes, procedures and regulations for the Courier and Logistics industry in Nigeria.

The Rulemaking Process and Regulations will position NIPOST as a key player in the digital economy, in line with the National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigera.

Dr Femi Adeluyi
Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the
Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy
18^th May 2021