The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, paid an inspection visit to the site of the ongoing construction of the project in Kano State, where he received an unequivocal commitment from the contractors that the project will be finished by January 2023, ahead of the ceremonial commissioning of the Digital Industrial Park (DIP) project in Kano State.
The chairman of the NCC paid an inspection visit on Friday as part of routine trips to ensure close monitoring and efficient supervision of significant projects that will have significant effects on the socioeconomic growth of the nation.
The Special Adviser to the Governor of Kano State, Prof. Yusif Alhassan, was also present. The EVC, who was accompanied by the NCC’s Head of Projects, Philip Eretan, and the EVC’s Chief of Staff, Malam Hafiz Shehu, among others, during the visit, stressed the need for the contractors to step up their efforts to finish the project on time.
Speaking to the contractors, Danbatta said that the project would contribute value to the economy of the North-West geo-political zone as well as the nation as a whole. As a result, the Federal and State governments are closely monitoring the progress being made at the building site.
“This is a project that Nigerians are eagerly waiting to be completed. The Federal Government and the State government are following it with keen interest, and at NCC, our responsibility is to ensure that there’s no further delay in delivery as we have been doing everything possible to ensure that we have the project commissioned in the next few months.
“While I promise you that we will give you all the support you need, I also demand that progress report to be sent to me fortnightly over the two months period in order to ensure effective monitoring by us at NCC,” he said.
The EVC went on to praise the State Governor for providing land in a desirable area of Kano for the project, saying that this shows how much importance the government has on it.
The NCC’s DIPs, which are currently being constructed throughout the nation’s six geopolitical zones, are anticipated to offer Innovation Labs and Digital Fabrication Laboratories (Fablabs) for use by digital innovators and entrepreneurs in converting their concepts into finished goods and prototypes. Additionally, the parks are built to offer broadband services and access to a steady supply of electricity.
The head of the NCC has previously visited the project’s construction site, which is situated at the Audu Bako Secretariat in the historic city that also serves as northern Nigeria’s commercial hub.
The purpose of the EVC’s most recent visit, as well as a similar one in July 2022 and other visits he made far earlier, was to evaluate the amount of work that has been completed so far in order to guarantee that the project will be completed by the deadline.
Danbatta noted that the project was conceived to support the Federal Government’s digital drive by facilitating the availability and accessibility of digital services throughout the country, and promoting their adoption and usage across all sectors, as well as providing youth employment in the country. This was stated during the July 2022 visit to the construction site.
“The idea of putting these two things (i.e., skill acquisition and innovation) at the forefront of this very important initiative is to produce youths that can be self-reliant, generate employment for themselves and other Nigerians,” he said.
Danbatta had also stressed that no part of the country would be left out in benefitting from the initiative. “The project is another move to boost youth digital skills acquisition, promote innovations, provide jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth and ultimately support the overall digital economy agenda of the Federal Government,” he said.