May 30, 2024

The Federal Government says that it expects collaboration within the public and private sectors to achieve 70 per cent digitalisation in Nigeria by 2025.

The government said this at the one-day 1Government Cloud Digitalisation Retreat for federal MDAs of government organised by Galaxy Backbone (GBB) on Thursday in Abuja.

The retreat was tagged: “Presidential Priorities 8: Improved Governance for Effective Service Delivery”.

The Managing-Director of GBB, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the agency has a vision of improving service delivery for the citizens by providing a single ‘Government Service Portal’, which would provide access to services from all MDAs.

Adeyanju said in a bid to fulfill GBB’s mandate, it has introduced ‘1Government Cloud’, which is the combination of Infrastructure and Software.

He said as a ‘Service Framework’, it was aimed at providing the federal MDAs with the software and secure data storage they require.

Adeyanju stated that this would be through a standard unified interface following best practice to support the Federal Civil Service Strategy Implementation Plan 2025 (FCSSIP 25).

“This vision can only be achieved through the speedy digitalisation of the MDAs.

“For those of you who know us, you will agree with me that the newest entry to our cloud solutions is software as a service.

“The 1Government Cloud Software as a Service framework has been set up to enable the speedy digitalisation of the MDAs.

“In the bid to fulfil our mandate, we have evolved into a Cloud services and Integrated Technology Solution Company, with operations related to being an enabler, platform and aggregator of digital services,” he said.

In his remarks, Faruk Yabo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, stressed the need for Nigeria to take charge of its ‘Data Sovereignty’ to ensure sensitive national data was secured and saved

“Data sovereignty rules must be wholly governed by Nigeria, ensuring that our sensitive national data is not subject to the regulations or access rights of other governments or foreign technology providers.

“This autonomy is crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of our national digital infrastructure,” he said.

Yabo said that embracing digitisation through partnerships with local Nigerian companies would support the country’s economy and create jobs.

According to him, by leveraging indigenous talents and solutions, the civil Service would not only enhance its digital capabilities but would also foster national economic growth and innovation.

Yabo said the civil Service handles sensitive information that requires secure and compliant software solutions, saying, ” so there is the need to partner with indigenous public and private sector players.

“These players operating at global standards allow the government to exert greater control over the security of its software, ensuring robust protection for its data.”

While advocating a more centralised government digital front for civil servants to access workflows, he acknowledged the need for individual MDAs to maintain their autonomy.

The permanent secretary added, ”To future-proof our response to new technological innovations, our base government solutions will provide a framework for secure integration through APIs over a secure network.

“This includes the ability to request specific functional enhancements unique to their operations, ensuring a balance between uniformity and customisation.

“This approach encourages local development and maintenance of software, avoiding dependency on expensive commercial software licenses and enhancing technological self-reliance.” (NAN)