Science & Tech
THE Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in collaboration with Afrinex West Africa Ltd. and other partners are holding a technology expo to drive investment opportunities in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the expo, the maiden International Technology and Communication Expo (ITEC), is a three-day event holding from Thursday to Saturday.
It has the theme “Advancing Technology and Communication for Economic Growth”.
Dr Johnson Anene, Chairman of the expo’s Organising Committee, said on Thursday in Abuja that they were using the event to muster more support to advance technology and communication.
“The expo is about encouraging people that will invest in Nigeria, promoting the application of digital technology and effective communication in business and government and in private lives.
“We want to really contribute to the advancement of national economy, create wealth and create jobs for the unemployed youths.
“We are going to be training a lot of young ones in the course of the expo, lots of youths have registered and some digital technology companies will be participating in training people for free,’’ he said.
Anene added that areas that would be used in training participants include: technology training, management skills, effective communication and other areas.
He expressed hope that at the end of the programme, lots of new business opportunities would be built.
“No nation can attain progress without the organised private sector, the Small and Medium Entreprises, industrialisation, technology and digital communication,” the organising committee chairman said.
Mr Haruna Abdullahi, the Executive Chairman, Federal Capital Territory — Internal Revenue Services (FCT-IRS), said the organisation had been transforming its service delivery platforms.
He added that the6 were also adopting new technologies to improve tax-paying services within the territory.
“The country needs revenue both at national and sub-national level. So, we need to build on our platforms, improve on our systems to be technology-driven,” Abdullahi said.
An exhibitor, Mr Ekubo Timi, who is the Assistant Chief Engineer, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), said the expo would positively impact the country’s economy.
The NASRDA team, with the prototype of Nigeria Sat 2 satellite, said they were at the expo to create more awareness on what the space agency could offer in the areas of precision agriculture, security and more.
“We are trying to move away from trial-and-error agriculture into precision farming. We want to have high yield in our agricultural system.
“We are also doing a lot in security, agriculture, in disaster management.
“We are looking forward to people investing in space because space business is a big business.
“Government cannot do it alone. If we have private sector that can put in their money, it will expand space business in Nigeria,’’ Timi said.
Mr Williams Samuel, another exhibitor with the Business Entrepreneurship Skills and Technology (BEST) centre of ACCI, said the expo had exposed them to advanced technologies.
Samuel further said they could adopt the new technologies in their training schedule and educate people on such as well.
“We train people on advancing technologies by partnering with organisations that have the materials,intellect and training modules to train,’’ he said.
The Minister of Transportation, Mr Mu’azu Sambo, represented by Mr Francis Agbaji, said technology and transportation was crucial for any economy to thrive and compete.
“The ministry and its agencies have taken cognisance of this fact and have devised efforts to deploy the use of technology in all their sectors.
“In the maritime sector, the Deep Blue Project was launched in 2021 to tackle incidences of piracy, sea robbery and other crimes at sea.
“This project has helped in reducing piracy and kidnapping in Nigerian waters,’’ he said.(NAN)
Tags: Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry
