The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the parastatals under the ministry’s purview have come up with palliatives that will have direct impact to the citizenry to cushion the effect of the unforeseen circumstances caused by the pandemic.
“These palliatives will definitely not be enough for all Nigerians, but we believe it will surely show our care and concern for them. The palliatives have been provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Galaxy Backbone Ltd, Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NigComSat) and Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST)”, said the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami during the inauguration of Ministerial Committee on Palliatives in Abuja.
The Honorable Minister revealed that the committee on distribution of palliatives comprises of all the parastatals under the ministry’s supervision. He said “we are also partnering with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and other Civil Society Organisations to ensure transparency in the distribution of the palliatives”.
The palliatives to be distributed includes: ambulances fully equipped with ICU gadgets; 9000 bottles of hand sanitizers; 7,500 pieces of face masks; deployment of ICT Infrastructure to meet the specific needs of the NCDC and stakeholders, e.g. customized application to help contain the virus spread and provision of 100 laptops; 120 infrared thermometers; food items to relevant communities in form of 3 trailer loads of rice; support in the distribution of emergency supplies; provision of dedicated satellite channel on the NIGCOMSAT Direct-to-Home platform for wider information dissemination; 20 sets of Personal Protective Equipment; and ICT gadgets to support virtual meetings in Federal Public Institutions.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi while delivering his goodwill message appreciated the minister for the laudable initiative and for his exemplary leadership which has brought synergy amongst the parastatals under his supervision.
“This activity is in line with the 7th pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS)- Digital Society and Emerging Technology pillar. The pillar focuses on tying the development of the digital economy to indices of well-being in the lives of the ordinary citizens and this is why a significant proportion of the palliatives are based on technology”, he added.
