FG to designate ICT facility ‘critical national infrastructure’

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu on Thursday disclosed that the Federal Government would soon designate Information Technology Communication (ICT) infrastructures as critical national infrastructure. To this end, Shittu said destruction of any ICT infrastructure would be treated as criminal. The Minister spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the 6th Regular Meeting of the National […]

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu on Thursday disclosed that the Federal Government would soon designate Information Technology Communication (ICT) infrastructures as critical national infrastructure.

To this end, Shittu said destruction of any ICT infrastructure would be treated as criminal.

The Minister spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the 6th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Communications Technology (NCCT) with the theme “Leveraging ICT As A Vehicle For Economic Recovery and Growth.”

Shittu said the development becomes necessary considering the FG’s resolve “to restore economic growth, invest in our people and build a competitive economy with ICT as a major plank.”

In the pursuit of national agenda, he pointed out that the government has continued to reposition the ICT sector in areas of infrastructure and industry development, local content optimisation and regulatory framework.

The Minister who revealed that the country’s Foreign Direct Investment has increased from $32 billion in 2015 to $40 billion in 2018, reiterated Federal Government’s resolve to use ICT as a way of economic diversification to boost nation’s economic recovery and help in massive employment generation for the teeming youths.

He said “We are working to have ICT infrastructures designated as critical national infrastructure.”

“You will recall that a number of infrastructures like electricity are regarded as critical national infrastructures. They are not meant to be manipulated or destroyed.”

” Today alot of telecommunication infrastructures are being destroyed and vandalised. By the time, we make ICT a critical national infrastructure, it will become criminal for anybody vandalise or do anything to affect their operations.”

“It will be a policy issue that will be announced very shortly. By the time we do that we would have been protecting these infrastructures that are very useful to all Nigerians.”