#WeekInReview: Full Week Recap of Activities of the Honourable Minister, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani

Back to About Us > #WeekInReview: Full Week Recap of Activities of the Honourable Minister, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani

Posted on:

July 1, 2024

INTRO

It was a busy week for the Honourable Minister as he pushed forward with his engagement with key stakeholders towards delivering on the goals outlined in his Strategic Blueprint document. One of such engagements was the Fibre Forward Strategic Development Workshop designed to identify and outline steps towards setting up the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to build out 90,000km of fibre optic connectivity across Nigeria.

KEY FOCUS

Infrastructure: Recognising infrastructure development as a key driver of productivity and growth, Dr. Tijani engaged with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and other stakeholders towards setting up the recently approved SPV to build out 90,000km of fibre optic connectivity across Nigeria. This represents a significant step towards connecting unserved and underserved communities in the country to broadband fibre optic network.

Innovation: To position Nigeria as a leading nation in the development and adoption of innovative technologies, the Honourable Minister met with representatives of the People’s Republic of China, Zipline, Rack Centre, and others to explore ways in which such technologies can be put to practical use towards accelerating our economy.

TIMELINE

Monday:

The Honourable Minister started the week by hosting Ebele Okobi, Senior Policy Advisor, OpenAI to explore partnership opportunities between the Ministry and the global technology company.
His next meeting was with a delegation from United Bank for Africa (UBA) to explore areas of collaboration with the Ministry towards achieving its set goals. The UBA delegation include Aisha Abubakar, Relationship Officer, Embassies, Multilaterals and Donor Organisation Unit; Nneka Asiegbu, Area Manager; Julius Ajie, Area Manager, Public Sector Group; Eke Ogba, Group Head EMDOs and Public Sector; and Hamilton Nakireru, Regional Head, Embassies, Multilaterals, and Donor Organisations.
Following this meeting, Dr. Tijani met with Wang Yingqi, Minister Counselor, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, to deliberate on avenues of strengthening investment cooperation in the digital economy between both countries. The Minister Counselor expressed China’s willingness to offer training opportunities to Nigerian officials, and also highlighted ways of promoting cooperation in agriculture through its Agriculture Demonstration Centre based in Abuja.
The Honourable Minister then met with representatives of Zipline in his office to discuss diverse issues including the status of their facility in Kaduna State, the company’s work in the agriculture sector, and proposed partnership with the Ministry on ⁠Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) study and policy framework. Zipline representatives at the meeting include ⁠Caitlin Burton, SVP, Partnerships; ⁠⁠Gbolahan Fagbure, Director of Sales; Adebola Odefisayo, Director of Customer Success; ⁠⁠and Reginald Bassey, Manager, Government & Aviation Affairs.

Tuesday:

Dr. Tijani attended the Ministry-organised Fibre Forward Strategic Development Workshop where he engaged with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and other stakeholders to identify and outline steps towards setting up the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to build out 90,000km of fibre optic connectivity across Nigeria. The Workshop was attended by Wale Edun, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy; and representatives of notable DFIs including the World Bank Group, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank, WIOCC, and Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI). Others are the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), U.S Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), and European Union (EU).
The Honourable Minister then met with his team to deliberate on the United Nations-led Global Digital Compact.
Later in the evening, the Honourable Minister attended a dinner meeting with key representatives of DFIs who participated in the productive Fibre Forward Strategic Development Workshop.

Wednesday:

The Honourable Minister hosted in his office, Lars Johannisson and Ezekiel Egboye, CEO and COO of Rack Centre respectively, to discuss diverse issues including the Data Centre company’s Waste to Energy Sustainability Initiative. Among other issues discussed are the impact of the proposed 90,000 fibre optic interconnectivity network on the country’s ICT sector and the effect of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project on subsea cables landing on the Nigerian coastline. Rack Centre is a Carrier Neutral Tier III Data Centre providing data colocation services, Interconnect & Cloud services.
Dr. Tijani took part in a virtual meeting organised to deliberate on next steps following the Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) Management Retreat in Abuja. Action points from the meeting included a recommendation to draft a document highlighting the role GBB should play in government and the private sector. The GBB team at the meeting were Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, MD/CEO; Mohammed Sani Ibrahim, ED Finance & Corporate Services; Olumbe Akinkugbe, ED Digital Exploration and Technical Services; Hon. Olusegun Olulade, ED Customer Centricity & Marketing; Dauda Oyeleye, Group Head, Mandate Integration and Corporate Strategy; and Kamaldeen Oluwole, Chief of Staff to the MD/CEO.

“Last week, the Honourable Minister’s activities focused on the Infrastructure and Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Capital pillar objectives of his Strategic Blueprint as he engaged productively with representatives of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) at the Fibre Forward Strategic Development Workshop and Minister Counselor from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.”

Thursday:

Dr. Tijani met with his team to discuss prep plans for a scheduled stakeholder workshop set up by the Ministry in collaboration with the Cross River State Government. The workshop will explore ideas towards repositioning the Tinapa Business Resort into a vibrant and economically viable tech theme park.
He later attended an event to mark the 2024 World MSMEs Day in Abuja. At the event, which was also attended by the Tola Adekunle-Johnson, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and MSMEs, the Honourable Minister spoke on the need for relevant institutions to support innovative businesses that will help raise the level of productivity of Nigerians while also boosting the economy.

Friday:

The Honourable Minister attended the inaugural Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Townhall Meeting at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The event, which was hosted by Vice President Sen. Kashim Shettima, had other Ministers and Heads of Government Departments & Agencies in attendance.
Dr. Tijani’s next engagement was a briefing session by a delegation from the Office of the SSA to the President on SDGs towards drafting Nigeria’s position on the United Nations Global Digital Compact (GDC), the outcome of which will be presented at the UNGA 2024. The GDC is geared towards fostering an inclusive, open, safe, and secure digital future for all.
He later had a meeting with representatives of Africa Data Centres (ADC) who highlighted the impact and achievements of the company in Nigeria and in the West Africa sub-region. ADC signified interest in partnering with the Government towards building the nation’s biggest digital infrastructure. Meeting attendees include Dr. Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive, West Africa, Africa Data Centres and Dr. Joy Francis, ED Strategy & Business Development, Uni Cloud Africa.
Dr. Tijani attended the Social Protection Cross Learning Summit (SPECS 2024) themed, ‘Social Protection Towards Human Capital Development’. There, he joined a panel to discuss Improved Social Protection Coordination for Effective Delivery Systems. The Honourable Minister highlighted the need for social protection mechanisms to cater for a broad spectrum of Nigerians, while also noting Government’s efforts at harmonising siloed databases towards addressing identified challenges. Other panellists include Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Honourable Minister of Youth Development, and David Stevenson, Country Director, World Food Programme (WFP).

Posted on:

July 1, 2024