e-Governance: More MDAs Move Online

Nigerian government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are beginning to conduct their businesses online, after initial lethargy and this is helping many MDAs reduce their costs and increase their productivity, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report.

As at the end of the year, about 382 MDAs have already connected to the worldwide web using the .gov.ng domain platform while all MDAs are expected to migrate to local domain by the end of 2014.

 Nigeria CommunicationsWeek checks in Abuja revealed that the Ministry of Communications Technology which is driving the migration to e-Governance is aggressively pursuing the connect Nigeria project.

The ministry hopes to achieve this by facilitating the provision of a ubiquitous broadband infrastructure and providing access to infrastructure and device ownership to promote inclusive development.

Efem Ekanga, special assistant to the minister of Communications Technology told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at the weekend that her ministry has a vision to drive Nigeria on the path of technological advancement towards enhancing productivity and economic growth.

Ekanga stated that Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communications Technology,  is driving the vision of connecting the country and the projection is that by December 2014, the nation would developed a “national government portal that will facilitate easy access to government information through publish and inform websites, with every single Federal Government MDA having a functioning publish and inform websites domiciled on the portal.”

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek recalled that MDAs had initially ignored the directive to operate their businesses online but with the added bite by the ministry of Communications Technology,  more MDAS are begin to operate seamlessly online as in the private sector, it was learnt that government directed MDAs migrate to the .ng domain.

Today registered email accounts in government circles on the .gov.ng domain names have hit 86,089, while more than 250 websites have been hosted on .gov.ng platform.

In addition, over 200 Servers are hosted for more than 94 MDAs – including the news agency of Nigeria, NAN, Nigerian Army and PENCOM.