The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has said that the Federal Government is working to achieve a paperless government system by 2030.
The minister spoke on Wednesday at the Champions Day and closing of 2021 Service Wide Capacity Building Programme on e-Government at the e-Government Training Centre (e-GTC) in Abuja.
The training, held in eight batches, was facilitated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) with support from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
About 1,376 public servants were trained between November 2020 and December 2021 at the centre located in the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) in Abuja.
The beneficiaries are expected to drive the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) to achieve change and leverage technology in building a vibrant digital economy.
Pantami recalled that from 2019 to the end of 2021, the ministry made 16 policies to drive the digital economy agenda, including policies on Virtual Engagements and e-Government.
He said: “By 2030, we hope to achieve a paperless government that will be driven by Blockchain technology and that can be used to achieve a lot.”
The minister said through government efforts, NITDA, by approving IT projects in MDAs in 2019 and 2020, was able to save the Federal Government about N9 billion and about N152 million.
According to him, by the implementation of policies in the sector, more can be achieved.
He directed the e-GTC committee to ensure digitisation of activities in the centre in the year.
In his remarks, Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Essan, said her office was working with NITDA to create a digital platform to ease service delivery in the public service space.
Dr. Yemi-Essan stressed that agencies of government needed to collaborate better for a sustainable digital economy agenda, without which the nation could not move forward.
