By Ibiyemi Mathew
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami alongside Professor Umar Garba Danbatta and Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar have commended Nigerian NewsDirect for her commitment to good governance and national growth.
Speaking at the 2022 NewsDirect Annual lecture and Awards of Excellence held in Lagos, the Minister who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant Media and Spokesperson to the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mrs Uwa Suleiman said, “the Minister has built the largest Digital economy in Africa from a sector that used to be non-existent in Nigeria.”
She thanked the organisers of the award ceremony for taking note of the great achievements of the Minister and finding him worthy of recognition.
Receiveing the award of Exemplary Leadership on behalf of the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Ltd, Engr (Dr) Nasir Shinkafi, Chief Information Security & Business Continuity Officer of Galaxy Backbone Ltd noted that the “Award of excellence / Man of the Year awards ceremony themed ‘GOOD GOVERNANCE: PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS’ ROLES IN RAISING REVENUE, GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND POSITIVE TURNAROUND OF NIGERIAN ECONOMY’ is a testimony of NewsDirect’s commitment to sourcing and delivering accurate news from source as a necessary ingredient for National Growth.”
He expressed delight at the recognition and he dedicated the award to his supervisor and mentor, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim for all his support,leadership and guidance.
Danbatta who was represented by Mr Reuben Muoka, Director of Public Affairs of the Commission acknowledged that the recognition is a call to action to do better.
In his remarks, the Publisher of Nigerian NewsDirect, Prince (Dr) Samuel Ibiyemi noted that the recognition given to the Minister, the Chief executives of Galaxy Backbone Ltd, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was as a result of the Exemplary leadership and vision put in place to provide viable economic alternatives to Nigeria’s economy via the growth and development of the digital economy.
Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the Director, Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, said it was gratifying to have been considered worthy for the award in recognition of the initiatives deployed by the Commission in carrying out its statutory mandate.
The EVC stated that the theme “Good Governance: Private and Public Sectors’ Roles in Raising Revenue, Growth and Positive Turnaround of Nigerian Economy” provides the veritable opportunity for all stakeholders to seek better ways of advancing the course of good governance both in public office and in the private sector of the Nigerian economy.
In giving concrete expression to the strategic vision of the Commission with respect to the theme of the programme, Danbatta said the Commission is ever determined to ensure collaboration with all stakeholders in the Nigerian communications industry and even beyond as it remains one of the surest ways of enabling a positive turnaround of the Nigerian economy.
Danbatta thanked the organisers of the programme for the award and acknowledged that it was a call for more work to be done to push the frontiers of good governance that ensures national development and economic growth.
While presenting the awards, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Nigerian NewDirect, Prince (Dr) Samuel Ibiyemi praised Minister Pantami, Professor Umar Danbatta and Professor Muhammad Abubakar as eminently qualified and deserving of the prestigious recognition on the strength of the roles they are playing in the realisation of the new national broadband penetration target of 70 per cent by 2025.
Dr Ibiyemi added that with the incontrovertible facts on the ground, it was easy for the board and management of his organisation to agree that through an effective regulatory regime and various cutting-edge initiatives, Danbatta has stabilised the telecom industry and strengthened the telecommunications sector as a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and boosted telecoms investment inflows from $36 billion to over $70 billion between 2015 toll date.
Other eminent Nigerians who were conferred with various categories of awards at the event include the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami; Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State; Bello Hassan, Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Mimi Adzape, Executive Chairman, Benue State Internal Revenue Service among others.