President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the ministry of communication technology for a comprehensive report on the sale of the Nigeria Telecommunications Company (NITEL).
NITEL was first sold in 2001 under the administration of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo but was returned to the government owing to hiccups in the initial sale and was finally sold for about $252 million in December 2014.
Buhari said he was concerned by protests of former NITEL employees and other Nigerians over the manner in which assets of the company were sold.
He also directed the ministry to work harder to fully develop the revenue-generation potential of Nigeria’s information technology sector.
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Speaking after receiving a briefing from Tunji Olaopa, permanent secretary of the ministry, at the presidential villa on Tuesday, Buhari directed the ministry to bring forward for consideration and approval, all pending proposals for the development of the country’s IT sector which require the approval of the federal executive council.
“Where you don’t need exco approval and you are not in breach of the law and will not lose money, you can go ahead. Now that oil costs less and we are contending with its theft, we have to move to areas where we can realize revenue quickly,” he said.
Buhari welcomed the plan by the ministry to use post-offices across the country for IT and financial transactions especially in the rural communities, saying that he was happy to hear that “we are recovering the post offices from rats and rodents.”
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The ministry’s presentation to the president dwell on the potential of the IT sector which Olaopa said, contributes 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) but could grow to 20 percent if some proposals by the Ministry are approved and implemented.
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