We’ve invested over N8bn on ICT infrastructure – Gov Obaseki

Mathew Dadiya

Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki has disclosed that his state has invested over eight billion (over $20m) on the development of Information Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure.

Obaseki said that the investment will improve broadband penetration adding that it was in line with global drive for digital economic transformation.

The governor said this on Monday at the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) held at the Emirate Convention Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE) with the theme: “Shaping the Digital Future of Foreign Direct Investment.”

On the amount invested, he said between Google and MainOne, over $20 million has been invested in the fibre optic projects.

Obaseki said, “it is a summit that has come to stay, a summit that a lot of emerging economies, a lot of third world countries either in Africa, Asia or in the Middle East have come to identify with it as their own.

“When you go for a similar summit in the western world, they are always talking about their own – their economy, and thinking beyond where you are.

“But with this summit, it’s peers talking to one another and we are about the same page of development even though some have moved faster or ahead of others,but we generally can understand each other and the issue are the same.”

According to the governor, the issue is how to get ourselves integrated into the digital economy.

Obaseki noted that the global economic growth is coming more from the digital transactions from digital economies and it’s important that emerging markets such as Nigeria,key in.

“So this summit is very apt to profit on our future. You can tell from the conversations that have been going on from the last couple of days how the digitalization of the economy is really transforming the economy either in the area of education, healthcare, mobile transactions, banking and Nigeria cannot be left out of it,” he added.

On the threat associated with digitalization, the governor said, the fact that participants have highlighted it, means that “it is an issue on the table of discussion for us.”

However, he said the fact that you have a downside to a subject does not mean you totally remove the benefits from the table.

“How do you get around cyber security, definitely a lot of work is been done global in network security, nobody is to complain.

“The fact that we are talking about it, we just have to key in and make more investment in the area of cyber security and also make sure that we have legislative backing to punish any criminal.”

Governor Obaseki maintained that in Edo, they have positioned themselves as the digital hub for the South South region. He He said that today, the state has an innovation hub, and is partnering with technology companies.

But what is even more important, the governor said, “we are partnering with Google and MainOne, we building a infrastructure will support that.

“We are constructing about 400 kilometers of fiber in Edo as we speak.”

In the next couple of months, the governor the project should be ready for commissioning.

“Don’t forget that we also have energy, we have a lot of oil and gas and therefore we are building power plants, outside Azura, we are also building another 55Megawatts of power and with electricity and fiber, we are 50 percent there.

“All we need to do is to get the content providers, get our people on the system to be tuned into it,” the governor said.