FG to establish hardware training centres in Aba, Lagos

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, unveiled ambitious plans on Thursday to establish hardware training centres in pivotal tech hubs across Nigeria.

Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Tijani shared the government’s vision to establish these centres in Aba, Abia State, and Computer Village, Lagos State.

The minister emphasised the government’s commitment to promoting manpower development and creating job opportunities for Nigerians.

He outlined plans to collaborate with the Niger Delta Development Commission and industry experts to pioneer innovative approaches in hardware production.

Tijani said, “We are looking at partnering with the NDDC to bring on some of the best minds in the hardware sector to craft a path on how we invest in what is happening in Aba.

“Our ambition is that in the next couple of months into next year, we can set up a centre in Aba that is focused on hardware production.

“The centre will not just duplicate what is done, the centre is going to focus on building new technology, exposing the business people in that region on how they can leverage new technology to do what they already do better and train new talent.”

Tijani also set a target of achieving a 90 per cent digital literacy rate in Nigeria by the year 2030.

He said, “The plan is that by 2030, 90 per cent of Nigerians should be digitally literate. Digital literacy doesn’t mean that you become a technical talent, but it gives you the foundation to be able to choose that you also want to participate in the digital economy.”