By: Imo Thomas -Umuahia.
Abia state government’s determination to digitalize its working environment has yielded fruit, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MTN Nigeria Limited for a digital transformation of the state.
Prince Okey Kanu, Abia state commissioner for information, disclosed this on Monday evening at the government house while briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s EXCO meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
He said that the strategic partnership between the state government and MTN Nigeria is the outcome of several months of meetings and negotiations between Abia State Government officials and the management of MTN.
According to him, the MoU covers six very important areas as follows;
“Coverage of 100% of the population and the whole of Abia with broadband access before year-end.
Device ownership scheme for Abia civil servants. And this is a situation whereby MTN Nigeria Limited will finance the acquisition of laptops, smartphones, and Wi-Fi devices for Abia state civil servants.
“Digital Governance. Refers to the provision of cloud services and dedicated cloud computing services.
“The establishment of an Abia digital mall. This will involve the usage of multiple digital tools to drive SME growth in Abia State.
“The provision of 4G and 5G services in Umuahia, Aba, and Ohafia before the end of the year.
“And provision of a digital marketplace to drive both e-governance and e-commerce in the state,” Prince Kanu stated.
Prince Kanu further stated that the partnership will help the state to leverage technology to drive socio-economic growth.
He added that,
“What this means, for instance, is that the rice farmer in Abam, or the cocoa dealer in Bende, or the palm-produce dealer in Ukwa East Local Government, will conduct their businesses from the comforts of their homes in these remote areas.
“This project, when fully realized, will definitely turn the fortunes of the state around and will place Abia State not just among the first in the country, but among the first in Africa and the world,” Prince Kanu stated.
The Commissioner equally said that, in a major move to enhance the power initiatives of Governor Alex Otti-led administration, the state government has submitted a bid for the acquisition of 60% of the interstate electricity assets of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in Abia State.
He informed that the initial offer was submitted recently, while the negotiations for the 60% acquisition of the assets of EEDC have reached an advanced stage, adding that the process of ring-fencing the eight LGAs situated in Abia Central and Abia North is ongoing.
While announcing that the Solar- for- Health-Power Project, an EU-sponsored project will be launched next week, the Commissioner informed that Abia State is one of the few states selected under the scheme for the project, whereby the EU would bring 70% finance and Abia State would bring 30% counterpart funding for this project.
He said, when the project is launched, it will light up a minimum of nine health facilities across the state.
The Commissioner also informed that the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) has commenced door-to-door collection of waste in some parts of Aba, Umuahia, and street-to-street collections in some parts of Abia North.
He said the initiative has attracted commendations from Abians at home and in the diaspora.
“This novel idea has elicited joy among the residents of the affected towns and cities as well as commendations from within and outside the state.
“Of course, the state of cleanliness of the state has become a subject of discussions within and outside the state, with many commending the Dr. Alex Otti-led administration.
“The abattoirs in Lokpanta and Uzuakoli have been reopened after they were shut down due to their very poor hygienic conditions. Both abattoirs have undergone renovations and retrofitting, and are ready and fit for public use once more.
“As ASEPA moves from waste conversion and recycling into a circular economy of waste as opposed to a linear economy, they have signed an MoU with a firm that possesses both international and extensive local experience in this area.
“ASEPA is using this medium to appeal to Abians to step up their levels of payment of ASEPA sanitation fees to sustain its laudable achievements at waste disposal in the state,” Prince Kanu stated.