A three-day annual Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), summit kicked off at the nation’s capital, Abuja on Monday, with the aim of consolidating on the success stories of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in the country.
The summit opened by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, according to officials of CTO would open more vista of opportunities for Nigeria’s ICT sector apart from contributing to the investment potential of the country.
Making this pronouncement, the Chief Executive Officer, CTO, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, accompanied by the Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. John Odey, Minster of State in the Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Nakande, and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, said at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, venue of the event that the organization has enormous respect for Nigeria’s performance in the ICT sector, hence the commitment to host this momentous event in the country.
He also said that about 13 Ministers from more than 58-country strong CTO have arrived Nigeria for the summit, which would last till today, Wednesday, October 8, alongside exhibition of products and services at the event.
Dr. Spio-Garbrah who described the growth of the telecom sector in the last seven years in Nigeria in glowing terms, hailed the nation’s leadership, saying that even if the services are not perfect, it has provided opportunity for millions of Nigerians to have access to services and even change the service providers when they are dissatisfied.
Also speaking, Minister of Communications, Mr. Odey, emphasized on the importance of this summit, reiterating it was in this bid that President Yar’Adua agreed to declare the event open.
The summit, he said, is a major capacity building event for the ICT sector in Nigeria, stressing that the event in addition would give the nation the opportunity to showcase its democracy and hospitability to the outside world.
Minister of Sate for Information and Communications, Alhaji Nakande, said the beauty of this summit is that it is mainly being funded by the private sector, which has contributed more than N35 Million as contributions towards hosting the event.
"It is a win-win situation for the country. It is good for our image. And we will have the opportunity to benefit from other countries who are attending the conference," Nakande said.
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization was founded in 1901 and has for a long time embarked on research and provision of resources that can impact meaningfully on commonwealth countries and on Nigeria in particular.
The theme of the sixth edition of the CTO holding at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, from Monday, October 6, to October 8, is: ‘Ensuring Effective Connectivity for a Socially Inclusive and a Commercial Vibrant Africa’.
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