The Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Adeolu Akande, at the weekend gifted N1 million to the First Baptist Church, Otu, Oyo state as part of the fund raising ceremony marking the 100 years of the church.
Akande, who attended the event with an entourage of two former Commissioners and six former local government chairmen in the state also used the occasion to reveal that the NCC is constructing a N500 million ICT Park in Ibadan this year as part of efforts to digitalise the Nigerian economy.
He also assured the people of Oke Ogun and Oyo State that telecommunications services will further improve before the end of the year when ongoing projects by the NCC and telecommunications companies in the state are completed.
Akande, who expressed happiness at the 100 years anniversary of First Baptist Church, Otu, noted the positive impact of the church on him and others, saying: “Indeed the history of the development of Otu and the Oke Ogun area cannot be complete without copious reference to the role of the church.”
He also noted that the society must accord more importance to religion and religious leaders to guarantee peace and tranquility, adding that many of the social ills in the society are traceable to the vanishing role of religion in many families and communities.
Akande said: “The NCC through the Universal Service Provision Fund and the telecommunication companies are presently undertaking many projects across the state to boost telecoms service.
“Before the end of the year when the projects are completed, you will see significant improvement in areas where there are problems with telecoms services.
“The NCC is also working on other projects to improve the welfare of society. We have endowed a professorial chair on Telecommunication Studies at the University of Ibadan.
“We are constructing a Knowledge Service Centre at the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education in Oyo and we shall soon begin work on an ICT park in Ibadan costing N500 million.
“It is one of the three ICT Parks to be constructed this year. The others are in Katsina and Gombe.
“Many secondary schools in Ogbomosho, Oyo, Ibadan, Ibarapa and Oke Ogun will benefit from the Knowledge Service Centres to be constructed by the USPF and NCC this year.
“All these programmes are designed to meet the objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari who re-designated the Ministry of Communications as Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
“A digital economy is impossible without the widespread availability of telecommunications services and a population that is literate in ICT.
“In the past few months, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has trained hundreds of thousands of youths in telecommunication services.
“The NCC will complement this effort with training programme for youths in Digital Job Creation across the country very soon.”
