Akande donates N1m to  First Baptist Church, Otu,  reveals N500m ICT Park for Ibadan

The Chairman , Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),Professor Adeolu Akande at the weekend gifted N1million Naira to the First Baptist Church,Otu as part of the fund raising ceremony marking the 100 years of the church.

Professor Akande who attended the event with an entourage of two former Commissioners and six former local government chairmen also used the occasion to reveal that  the NCC is constructing a N500million ICT Park in Ibadan this year  as part of efforts to digitalise the Nigerian economy. The ICT Park is to open opportunities for our youths to actualize their potentials and achieve their dream of dominating the world of ICT. Our Youths are doing so well in the sector and President Buhari has directed the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to give them all opportunities to be the best they can in the world of ICT. The ICT Parks is one of the initiatives to implement directive of President Muhammadu Buhari”.

He also assured the people of Oke Ogun and Oyo State that telecommunications services  will further  improve before the end of the year when on-going projects by the NCC and telecommunications companies in the state are completed..

Professor Akande who expressed happiness at the 100 years anniversary of First Baptist Church,Otu noted the positive impact of the church on him and others saying,”indeed, the history of the development of Otu and the Oke Ogun area cannot be complete without copious reference to the role of the church”.

He also noted that the society must accord more importance to religion and religious leaders to guarantee peace and tranquility . He said many of the social ills in society are traceable to the vanishing role of religion in  many families and communities.

“The NCC through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and the telecommunucation companies are presently undertaking many projects across the state to boost telecoms service. Before the end of the year when the projects are completed, you will see significant improvement in areas where there are problems with telecoms services”, he said.

“The NCC is also working on other projects to improve the welfare of society. We have endowed a professorial chair on Telecommunication Studies at the University of Ibadan. We are constructing a Knowledge Service Centre at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education in Oyo and we shall soon begin work on an ICT park in Ibadan costing N500Million. It is one of the three  ICT Parks to be constructed this year. The others are in Katsina and Gombe.

An ICT park comprises an area or location with a concentration of all ICT facilities which enables a concerted leap into the digital age by creating a dynamic environment in which local talent is incubated, cultivated, and shared. ICT parks are best tested and trusted institutional mechanisms to address the needs of technology-intensive, knowledge-based Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) globally.

Essentially, the NCC said the four main objectives of establishing the ICT Parks are to provide Innovation Labs and Digital Fabrication Laboratories (Fablabs) for use by innovators and entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into products and prototypes; provide a Commercial Hub for ICT capacity building and digital skills; create employment and entrepreneurial activities; facilitate smart city deployment across the Digital Industrial complex.

“We are also bringing campus  – wide internet service to the Oke Ogun Polythecnic. Many secondary schools in Ogbomosho,Oyo,Ibadan,Ibarapa and Oke Ogun will benefit from the Knowledge Service Centre’s to be constructed by the USPF and NCC this year.

” All these programmes are designed to meet the objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari who re-designated the Ministry of Communications as Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. A digital economy is impossible without the widespread availability of telecommunications services and a population that is literate in ICT.

” In the past few months, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has trained hundreds of thousands of youths in telecommunication services. The NCC will complement this effort with training programme for youths in Digital Job Creation across the country very soon.”,he concluded.