The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, has revealed that the Tier IV data centre commissioned Tuesday in Kano State will among other things boost Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and consolidate the digital economy viability of the country.
He said this Tuesday shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari had commissioned the data centre and Galaxy Backbone regional office.
Pantami said, “This is the first-ever data centre in northern Nigeria. No data centre above this in the whole world because the Tier IV data centre is the best all over the world, and that is why the reliability is 99.999%.
“The significance of the centre to the digital economy is enormous as you know that the digital economy is the fastest growing economy in the country, even faster than the oil and gas sector. For instance, this is the first time ICT will contribute three times more than what oil and gas contribute to GDP with 18.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2022 while oil and gas contributed about 6 per cent. By implication, the data centre will increase the revenue generation of the federal government and that of the private sector and increase the GDP of the ICT,” Pantami noted.
- Scores injured, 11 arrested as rival cult gangs clash in Lagos
- Presidency flays PDP over report of stone pelting in Kano
Also speaking, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Cui Jianchun, who applauded the collaboration of Nigeria and the Chinese government (through Huawei) in the area of Information technology development, disclosed a sustained working relationship with the government to build a global data system.
He said 5,000 youths would be trained in ICT knowledge through a Chinese own ICT firm, Huawei, stressed readiness to support Nigeria’s cyberspace and data intelligence