Johnson says use of .gov.ng to boost e-govt strategy in Nigeria

The utilization of the .gov.ng domain names by all the Federal Governments Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) is critical step towards achieving the e-government strategy in Nigeria, says the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson.

Mrs. Omobola Johnson, CommTech Minister

The minister, who was represented at the first-ever SwitchTo.Gov.Ng held last Wednesday at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), by the Deputy Director in-charge of Electronic Government (e-Govt), Mrs. Moni Udoh, said that till date some 40,000 electronic mail (e-mail) addresses have been opened for all the senior and principal officers of the federal government.

She outlined these officers to include permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals, directors and other management staff of various MDAs, even as new easy-to-remember domain names are being created for the MDAs.

"The utilization of the .gov.ng domain names by all MDAs is a critical step in the implementation of our e-government strategy,” she said, stressing that this will allow the affairs of the state to be run more securely within the national domain space.

Describing the .ng country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name as a national resource, Mrs. Johnson also noted that mass migration to .ng domain by MDAs and other will ensure the implementation of the first step in the e-government strategy.

This, she said is aimed at connecting government within itself and with the citizens of Nigeria on a safe common platform that will increase local traffic, thus reducing the overall cost of governance.

She pointed out that the essence of the SwitchTo.Gov.Ng workshop was to ensure that MDAs embrace, migrate and effectively manage the ‘gov.ng’ domain names, so as to position government to have confidence in its e-governance.

“This is very imperative for the twin benefits of our domain integrity and improved national image,” the Minister assured.

The workshop was organized by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Remmy Nweke

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