Mr Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has urged youths in Jigawa to embrace Information Communication Technology (ICT), to enhance the nation’s economy.
This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Friday by the agency’s Head Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Mrs Hadiza Umar.
Inuwa made the call in Dutse during the launch of a capacity building programme sponsored by the Jigawa state government for 1000 youths.
He said that NITDA would be supporting the state government, adding that ICT skills were of strategic importance and could drive the nation’s digital economy.
He advised the youths to embrace ICT skills for sustainable development and self-reliance, noting that the world was shifting from paper qualifications to skills and those who wanted to succeed must key-in to survive.
”This training of 1000 youths in Jigawa on skills in emerging technologies will enable the state to recover its lost glory as the leading state in the ICT sector of Nigeria in the early 2000s,” he said.
The director-general pledged the agency’s continued partnership with state governments across the country to expand digital literacy for citizens.
He added that ICT skills would propel the national digital economy to fight poverty and poverty-related challenges in the country.
Meanwhile Gov. Umar Namadi, represented by his Deputy, Aminu Gumel, commended NITDA for its various intervention programmes in the state which cuts across various sectors.
According to him, NITDA has aided the state to achieve its present feat in less than one year in office.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training focuses on five areas, with special attention on Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Software Developing, among others.
The training was organised by Jigawa government, NITDA, Base University and IDEAS Project Nigeria
