The Africa Free ICT, Kaduna, an NGO, said in Jos it had launched an Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) centre to train 370,000 Nigerians on ICT annually.
Mr Abel Ishaku, managing director, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday that the project was a partnership with some federal agencies.
Ishaku said that some of the partners were the Federal Information Centre, Jos and the National Institute of Public Information, Ungwan Rimi, Kaduna.
He said that the initiative covered corporate organisations and the general public and offered its services free of charge.
Ishaku said that the initiative was driven by passion and desire to keep Nigeria abreast with developments in the ICT sector, being the fastest growing industry in the world economy.
According to him, the sector has an average growth of 34 per cent per annum and has greatly benefited the country.
``We are lagging behind, especially our region, northern Nigeria,” he said.
He said the initiatives had been launched in 19 states of the federation and had trained a large number of personnel in the military, police, paramilitary organisations and the civil society.
Ishaku said the drive was to equip the people with the know-how of ICT which had become the way of doing things in the 21st century.
He said that knowledge of ICT, apart from being needed in sectors of the economy, also served as support service for effective governance.
He said it was essential in curbing youth restiveness, contributing to the GDP of the nation and the growth of the information and communication sector.
Ishaku said the sector had offered direct and indirect employment to six million Nigerians.
NAN reports that no fewer than 6,000 persons, mostly unemployed youth, were registered for the training in Jos.
The Director, Federal Information Centre Jos, Mr Olurotimi Oyesanya, said the programme would
