Mr Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, says the communications sector is a springboard for industrial and administrative revolution.
Shittu made this statement during his maiden meeting with the management staff of the ministry on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to him, God has blessed Nigeria with a large population that if explored in a fair manner communications can become the cash cow of the nation in place of petroleum.
“There are many graduates without the knowledge of ICT; many of them end up paying exorbitant fees to engage in entrepreneurial ventures to learn these things.
“We must evolve a policy that will engage the usage of ICT in our universities and polytechnics, which can generate a lot of income for government without being oppressive in our charges.
“The current economic downturn may be an inhibiting factor, however, we must be resolute in our resolve to make a difference serving Nigerians with utmost dedication, transparency and honesty.
“This we must do in order to achieve for our people the highest good possible in our circumstance, ‘’ he said.
Shittu frowned at a situation where just about ten per cent of the budget is capital project and the rest stands as overhead.
He stressed that if there were no capital projects, it would be difficult to achieve any level of development because hardly would jobs be created.
“It will not be business as usually, there will be zero budgeting, every budget must outline its programmes and everything budgeted for must be actualised to its last detail.
“We all must key into President Buhari’s plan of a society where jobs are created and readily available to make life less burdensome for those of us with many dependants.’’
Speaking on the influence of the civil service on governance, the minister said it was a critical machinery of government.
“The civil service has the crucial responsibilities of initiating, formulating and implementation of public policies, programmes and projects.
“It is, however, a fact that the performance level of any government cannot go beyond the level of competence, commitment and efficiency of its civil service.
“The government, therefore, needs you on its side to do things differently and lift our ministry to a lofty pedestal of performance, as true agents of change.
NAN reports that Shittu was among the 36 ministers inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier on Wednesday.
Also in his maiden meeting with the staff, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Sunny Echono, assured the minister that the entire staff would be mobilised to carry out the president’s mandate.
Echono encouraged staff to give a sense of direction to what ought to be done to achieve great results and move the ministry and Nigeria forward. (NAN)
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