A statement released by her Media Special Adviser, Bisola Kukoyi, detailed that this five-day training, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), was tailored specifically for women residing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Represented by Hon. Wahab Alawiye-King, the Senior Special Adviser on Policy, Strategy, and Logistics, the First Lady highlighted the global shift towards digital literacy.

She encouraged women to seize the opportunity presented by the training to enhance their knowledge and skills, emphasizing that Information Technology holds the potential to be a comprehensive platform for economic growth and empowerment.

Mrs. Tinubu reiterated her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of women across the country.

Dr. Aristotle Onyemaechi, Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy at NITDA, also addressed the gathering. He expressed NITDA’s dedication to bolstering the digital literacy capabilities of young individuals to catalyze Nigeria’s economic transformation.

Dr. Onyemaechi underlined the pivotal role women play in this transformation and expressed hope that the program’s beneficiaries would become advocates for the Renewed Hope Initiative and digital literacy throughout Nigeria.

Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), stated that the government has developed a policy to ensure that higher education students possess digital skills before graduation.

During the 2023 Train the Trainer ICT Capacity Workshop for Beneficiary Institutions in the North Central zone, held in Abuja, Echono emphasized that bridging the digital skills gap would enable the production of globally competitive graduates.

He highlighted the identified needs in various institutions, such as capacity building, internet access, electronic journals, and database subscriptions.

Echono emphasized the significance of digital technology in advancing research within beneficiary institutions and the nation as a whole.

Echono further explained that digital literacy was crucial due to the inadequate number of skilled manpower being produced for Nigeria’s population of 220 million people.

He also highlighted the mismatch between the skills possessed by graduates and the requirements of employers, stressing the need to close this gap.

Echono acknowledged that even the teaching staff, non-teaching staff, management staff, and the majority of the workforce lacked digital skills.

TETFund is committed to bridging this gap and believes that equipping students with digital literacy will enhance their marketability and create opportunities for advanced research.

He concluded by assuring the continuous support of TETFund to sustain this initiative, with the goal of making every institution globally competitive and positioning Nigeria favorably among other nations.

He stated this at the end of a study tour which he led to South Korea comprising some SUBEB chairmen and top officials from UBEC, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the National Teachers Institute (NTI).

The one-week study tour which took place from September 20th to 26th, 2022, was organized by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between UBEC and KOICA on strengthening the ICT utilization capability of smart schools teachers, improvement of accessibility to high quality teaching and learning contents, and infrastructural assistance to 6 smart schools.

During the study tour, the delegation visited some smart schools in the country where it became evident that the smart schools being established by the Federal Government were of exceptionally high standards in terms of the befitting school infrastructure, state-of-the-art equipment and teaching facilities, competent and highly trained teachers, and the modern Blended Learning methodology to be used.

The delegation also participated in several seminars and interactive sessions where specialists from UBION (the education technology company contracted by KOICA) and officials of the South Korean Ministry of Education took turns to explain the rapid educational progress recorded by Korea and the meticulous processes followed to introduce and sustain smart education in the country.

In his remarks, during one of the seminars, Dr. Bobboyi explained that Nigeria had a lot to learn from the Korean education system and promised that the lessons learnt would go a long way in adding value to the Nigerian Smart Schools Programme, in particular, and strengthening the entire education system in general. Noting the existing cordial relationship between the two countries, he emphasized that the study trip and the other interventions by KOICA will go a long way in strengthening the mutually beneficial affiliation between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that of South Korea.

Amongst other activities during the trip, the delegation paid a courtesy call on the Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea, His Excellency Alhaji Aliyu Magashi, visited some booths at the Edu Tech Korea Fair and participated in some cultural tours.

The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, gave the assurance on Tuesday while commissioning an IT Innovation centre (hub) named after President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina State.

According to him, this development would make the youths become job providers and contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy.

While retriating the importance of this development, the Minister said the world economy had moved from being dominated by those in the oil and gas sector to those in the Information and Technology, citing individuals such as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates and institutions such as the Silicon Valley and the Massacheuttes University of Technology.

He stressed that the ambition of the federal government was to have individuals and institutions that would attain the same greatness and wealth through Information and Technology.

According to him, Nigeria needs to create a conducive environment and mentorship that would encourage talented youths in the IT sector, adding that this informed the Federal Government to build the IT centre in Katsina state.

The minister said “ Digital Innovation and Digital Entrepreneurship are the prerequisites for Digital economy. Leading nations today in Europe, Switzerland, Asia, South Korea and the United States excel in Digital innovation and Digital entrepreneurship have a strong economy.

“Nigeria cannot and should not be left behind. That is why this kind of IT hub where our youths’ needs in Information Technology would be monitored while we shall continue to mentor them so that they will end up being job providers and successful IT individuals such as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates of this world.

“A centre like this will help the federal government and the state government to discover our talented youths and mentor them so that they will become job providers and contribute to the nation’s economy.’