The Federal Government has said it expects to achieve 70% digitialization of government services by 2025 in collaboration with the private sector.
The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, stated this at the one-day ‘1Government Cloud Digitalisation’ Retreat for federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, the vision of GBB as an agency of the government is to improve service delivery for the citizens by providing a single ‘Government Service Portal,’ which would provide access to services from all MDAs.
Government cloud
To achieve, this, he said the agency has introduced 1Government Cloud, which is a combination of Infrastructure and Software.
He added that as a ‘Service Framework’, the technology is aimed at providing the federal MDAs with the software and secure data storage they require.
“This vision can only be achieved through the speedy digitalization 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 digitalization 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.
Data sovereignty
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Faruk Yabo, 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 digitization 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 also foster national economic growth and innovation. Yabo said the civil service handles sensitive information that requires secure and compliant software solutions.
What you should know
In January this year, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, announced that the government planned to digitalize all public services to harness the benefits of the digital economy and ensure adequate protection of the citizens’ data.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu had given the Ministry the mandate to transform public services with technology. He said this means that a lot more of the things that the government does in public service will be digitalized.
The digitalization is expected to make it easy for Nigerians to access all government services. One such initiative is the fully automated passport application system launched in March this year by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.