By Cross Udo, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of the Regional Coordinating Centre, RCC, of the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa-CDC) in Nigeria.
Tinubu is the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.
A statement by the presidential spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, stated that Tinubu’s approval of the siting of the Centre in Abuja is part of his more significant effort to convey Nigeria’s commitment to regional and global health security while promoting local economic opportunities in the health care delivery value chain and enhancing Nigeria’s and West Africa’s collective capacity to respond promptly to outbreaks which are vital to the overall well-being and stability of the African continent.
According to the statement, “The Centre will also bring with it enormous socio-economic benefits in the form of enhancing aggregate national productivity and reversing human capacity drain, even as the ability of indigenous medical professionals and scientists will be bolstered to respond adequately to old, recent, and emerging diseases, not only in Nigeria but across the continent.”
Tinubu directs prioritisation of digital infrastructure investments to enhance business efficiency, productivity
By Cross Udo, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the Federal Ministry of Environment to align regulations and tax frameworks to facilitate investment expansion in telecommunications and broadband infrastructure nationwide.
The President issued the directive yesterday at the State House in Abuja, where he met with a delegation from American Tower Corporation (ATC) Nigeria. He expressed dissatisfaction with the bureaucratic pace of permit issuance processing for companies operating in the digital infrastructure sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of ATC Africa, Mr. Marek Busfy, had expressed ATC Nigeria’s commitment to expanding its investments in the country, which have already surpassed $2.19 billion since its commencement of Nigerian operations in 2015.
Busfy also emphasized ATC’s commitment to delivering value to subscribers while reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with its operations.
President Tinubu commended ATC Nigeria for its significant contributions and investments in the country’s ICT sector, highlighting the importance of innovative solutions to bridge the digital divide.
The President lauded the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy’s ongoing efforts to promote digital connectivity across the nation, particularly the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which functions to upskill three million Nigerian youths in digital literacy and innovation through innovation incubators nationwide.
He outlined ongoing initiatives to establish broadband connectivity in all 774 local government secretariats within six months, leveraging existing infrastructure, such as NIGCOMSAT and Galaxy Backbone’s fibre optic network.
Tinubu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, was quoted as saying, “In the area of ease of doing business, no nation can make progress without paying attention to the opportunities that are right in front of them.
“We have a vibrant youth population that has successfully innovated without much government support. What now happens in this era when we are providing massive support to their digital economic activities? They will do very well. You are investing in the right place at the right time.
“Considering our population and land mass, we need your investments to ensure that we are ready for a higher level of digital penetration in the telecommunications sector and the specific type of digital education needed in the competitive, knowledge-based global economy of the 21st century.”
Addressing concerns raised by the delegation regarding the ease of doing business in Nigeria, President Tinubu assured them of his administration’s commitment to implementing reforms that will eliminate bureaucratic constraints.
In response to the delegation’s request for a reduction in withholding tax for telecommunications companies to stimulate investments in telecommunications and broadband infrastructure, the President said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) would review the matter and provide a solution that is in the best interest of both the investors and the Nigerian people.
In his remarks, the CEO of ATC Africa reiterated the company’s readiness to invest further in Nigeria’s ICT infrastructure to meet the market’s growing demand for data. He also lauded the administration’s clarity of strategy, particularly the roadmap and efforts of the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani.
