Prof. Umar
Garba Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC), has stated the strategic activities of the
Universal Service
Provision Fund, USPF, were targeted at ensuring availability of service,
accessibility of service, and affordability of service which are the
constitutive hallmarks of universal access.
Prof.
Danbatta made this statement in Calabar through Kelechi Nwankwo, USPF’s Head of
Strategy and Corporate Performance Monitoring, who represented him at the
South-South Zonal Workshop on ICT Utilization and Sustainability organised by
USPF.
He noted that
the workshop was designed to enrich the experience of USPF implementing
partners such as the Community Resource Centre managers and the desk officers
of the School Knowledge Centre, as well as teachers, students and other
stakeholders interested in deepening ICT penetration.
Meanwhile
Opinion leaders including community leaders, government functionaries and the
enthusiasts of the institutions of the civil society are also invited to key
into faith in the alignment of rural ICT projects to the developmental goals
and the real needs of the beneficiaries.
Danbatta
told an enthusiastic assembly of over 250 youths, representatives of
community-based organisations, journalists, government officials and
development workers who gathered in Calabar for a two-day knowledge-sharing
process designed to deliver concrete results on NCC/USPF determination to
expand the frontiers of ICT penetration and usage among the citizens of
Nigeria.
Ayuba
Shuaibu, Secretary of USPF, represented at the workshop by Adejoke Atte, USPF’s
Principal Manager for Strategy and Corporate Performance Monitoring, added to
Danbatta’s voice when he declared that USPF mandate to promote availability of
ICT services in rural, un-served and under-served areas will contribute
measurably to Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan’s (ERGP)
objectives on telecommunication and ICT.
According to
him “These objectives are to: Develop sufficient, efficient, affordable and
critical ICT infrastructure; as well as encourage rapid ICT penetration among
all socio-economic levels and increase the current coverage of the active
mobile broadband subscription per 100 from 20.95 to 50 percent by the Year
2020”.
He also
revealed to the workshop participants that the programmatic drivers of these
objectives within the context of USPF mandate include the Accelerated Mobile
Phone Expansion Programme (AMPEP), the Backbone Transmission Infrastructure
(BTRAIN) project, the Rural Broadband Initiative (RUBI), the School Knowledge
Centre (SKC), the Community Resource Centre (CRC), and the E-Library, E-Health,
E-Accessibility, as well as the Universities Intercampus Connectivity (UNICC)
projects among others.
Shuaibu said
“the USPF strategic goals for 2013-2017 include the promotion of universal
access and service that facilitate connectivity for development; facilitate an
enabling environment for ICT; and institutional development.
“Thus, the
Fund’s vision of Equitable ICT Access for All will be given concrete expression
by instituting processes that ensure universal access and service to ICT
through market-based investment that stimulate development in rural, unserved
and underserved communities.
“These are
the underlying philosophies that birthed the zonal workshops.The second day of
the workshop was devoted wholly to training on technological transfer tagged:
BOOTCAMP, where participants will be exposed to Web Development, Android
Development, and Anduino – Robotics and Artificial Intelligence – also called
Machine Learning.
According to
an official of the consultant to USPF on the zonal Workshop programme, Edition
56, Cyril Nyulaku PhD, he said, “the bootcamp is a concrete practical session
of the application of ICT to enhance agriculture, health, education among
others.
“The
intention is that when the participants get back to their base they will apply
the knowledge as practically as possible”
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