#NCSAkure2015: Mimiko Urges IT Professionals on National ICT Strategy

Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, Ondo State Governor has urged professionals in the nation’s Information Technology (IT) industry to unleash common vision to guide the development of ICT in the country.

Mimiko who spoke through his deputy, Prince Abdul Azeez Oluboyo, in a keynote address at the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) 12th International Conference 2015 held in the State, said that achieving good governance, in a significant way, the citizens must be empowered in decision making-process through information sharing.

According to the Governor, contemporary society demands that citizens’ right to information and access cannot be denied; as one of the ways to achieve this is through Information Technology applications.

The Ondo State Governor said that theme for #NCSAkure2015 “Information Technology for Inclusive Development” is apt, and expressed confidence that discussions at the gathering will enough in harmonizing a common vision to guide the development of ICT in Nigeria.

He said, “It is exciting to have an array of Nigeria’s IT industry, professionals and the academia assembled with an objective of championing IT priorities and advancing technology to drive our nation’s economy; create new jobs and foster sustainable developments.

“Driving IT for inclusive development starts with driving IT for good governance. For good governance to exist in a significant way the citizens must be empowered in decision making-process, they must have a right to information and be to access it. One of the ways to achieve this is through Information Technology applications”.

Ondo State ICT Initiative

Mimiko added that “The choice of Ondo State for this historic event is commendable and it is coming on the heels of strategic designs and roll-out of Ondo State ICT initiatives to improve the quality of public service delivery by the State Government. For instance, right from inception, our administration is resolute to evolve a reliable and comprehensive database of all residents of the State.

“The underlining objective of this noble concept is to ensure the provision of socio-economic and welfare services with objective demographic data of the citizens. We all know that data have become the indispensable resource for sustainable planning.

Ondo State Residence Card -‘KAADI IGBE AYO’

“In this context, the State is blazing the trail with ultilization of Ondo State Residency Card ‘KAADI IGBE AYO’- a unique, home-grown solution for further enhance the people oriented programmes and projects f our administration,” he said.

The Governor added that the State Residence Card- ‘KAADI IGBE AYO’ is primarily aimed at service delivery management and not for identification.

“The importance of data for development cannot be overstressed. The SMP-2004-2008 document identifies the main underlying factor for the nation’s backwardness as the lack of basic socio-economic data.

“Consequently, I want to urge this gathering of ICT experts to find a way to harmonise a common vision to guide the development of ICT in Nigeria in order to enhance an inclusive development of our nation,” he urged the Conference participants.

Earlier, Professor David Adewumi, NCS president said that the IT industry understands the pressure on government at different levels in the country to deliver services to the citizens without delays.

He however said that IT plays pivotal role in reducing poverty, globally hence NCS recommends closer ties between the government and IT professionals in creating a conducive environment and smart solutions to aid the citizenry.

According to him, topics at this year’s Conference were deliberately presented to align with global trends and to aid Nigeria’s dream to achieve smart city and broadband availability, innovation and leadership in IT, cashless society and e-payment systems, cloud computing and BIG DATA, social networks, next generation networking and the internet, e-Health/e-Education/e-Agriculture/e-Tourism wrapped in e-Governance.