The National e-government strategies (Negst) in collaboration with National Information Technology Development Agency (Nitda) plans to extend the operation of e-government to Local governments in the country in line with the 7 point agenda of the federal government.
At a workshop organized by the two agencies, to enlighten local government administrators on the role of e-government, Dr. Olu Agunloye, executive vice chairman, Negst said that the summit is the take off point for the eLGA programmes which intends to educate Nigerians on how they are going to integrate all the local government council on e-democracy, e-payment and e-commence.
He said the whole idea in eLGA is about an online one stop government service to its citizens which will involve public private partnership (PPP) on easy access to all local government activities in the country, for good monitory of leadership and public accountability.
He maintain, that the use of modern technology has help to acquire adequate update of data and also ensure the accuracy of data that are pivotal to the administration of local councils in terms of availability and adequacy or deficient of socio-economic infrastructures, schools, health care outlets, market skills in meeting the needs of the citizens.
Dr. Agunloye, stress the need for partnership with private sector for the development of the sector as well as increasing service levels of e-services. He therefore called on the stakeholders to quickly adopt the programme for the third tier of government to develop.
In a remark, Major General Godwin Abbe (rtd) Minister of Interior represented by Alh. Abubakar Ali said that the eLGA will build a new set of values for the country’s future, adding that the programme will bring changes in areas of infrastructure, accountability and good governance.
He advised that the eLGA platform and e-Readiness capacity building should be structured to give all stakeholders ample opportunities to interact and contribute to the project as fast as possible. He commended the work of the Negst and urged them to go the whole hug in changing the status of the Local government system through the e-service application.
Professor Cleopas Angaye, director general, Nitda said the online one stop is simply; stop by for answers in any area one needs information about a local government. According to him, the world is dynamic and it must meet the yearning of the new world which is the computer age.
In a keynote address, Dr. Mahomud Yayale Ahmed, Secretary to the government of the federation, said the programme is designed to make all local government in the country ICT compliant thereby improving on service delivery. He said the eLGA will empower each local government council in Nigeria by injecting ICT tools in a structural manner to make them efficient and responsive for productivity at the grassroots level.
He added that, the connectivity among the third tiers of government will enable business and agriculture to improve as well as generate employment.
“The whole idea of the summit and preview is to reposition the grassroots leadership to response to challenges of governance and to meet the aspirations of National development agenda for actualization of the seven point agenda and vision 2020 of the government,” he noted.
