60 IT ‘triangular biz models’ ready in Dec. —FG

Disclosing this to journalists on the sideline of a one day seminar for MDAs and private sectors’ executives on Rural Information Technology Centres (RITCs), in Abuja at the weekend, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Mr Peter Jack said the 60 TBMs would also serve as a direct link between the […]

Disclosing this to journalists on the sideline of a one day seminar for MDAs and private sectors’ executives on Rural Information Technology Centres (RITCs), in Abuja at the weekend, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Mr Peter Jack said the 60 TBMs would also serve as a direct link between the people and their representatives in government.
Locals in the villages and towns do not have to travel to their states’ capitals or Abuja to transact business with government when the TMBs are launched, Mr Jack said.
He said 10 TMBs would be set up in each of the six political zones before year end, adding “all of them are expected to create 1.2million jobs.”
A pilot for the TMB had already been set up in Abuja and it is performing as planned, according to Jack.      
He revealed that the ultimate aim of FG is to create 200,000 IT-TMBs in all urban and rural communities in the country.
He said all the MDAs are expected to key into the initiate and contribute towards its success.
Also speaking to journalists, the Managing Director/CEO of Four D Associates Mr Okey Ikpe, whose firm organised the seminar in collaboration with NITDA, said the initiative would bridge the digital divide in the country.
According to Ikpe, TMBs will increase the impact of various government interventions on the rural communities.
But he said NITDA and other MDAs must ensure its sustainability.
“The initiative will not only bridge digital divide and increase IT literacy, it will also create millions of jobs in the country. It is a simple mathematics: if 200,000 centers are set up and employ at least 10 people there, you can see the outcome.
But government must ensure its sustainability”, he said.