Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has disclosed that Nigeria is already producing SIM cards and Smartphones.
And he added that the country has the capacity to produce the items to satisfy the African continent.
The minister made this known at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Professional Forum yesterday, held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The event was organised by the forum for government appointees to give accounts of their stewardship in office to Nigerians.
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Pantami who made the claim while speaking at the event assured that henceforth, importation of SIM cards and other 60-70 percent of items needed in the telecommunication sector would be produced locally.
According to him, Nigeria has the capacity to produce a minimum of 200 million SIM cards annually.
‘We came up with a policy that in the next two to three years, a minimum of 60 to 70 percent of what we need in the telecommunications sector is going to be produced locally and we have started it.
‘When this administration came on board, even SIM cards were imported into Nigeria.
‘But, as it is today, the Federal Government has provided an enabling environment for the private sector to produce SIM cards, not only for our consumption but for the entire African continent.
‘We have the capacity to produce a minimum of 200 million SIM cards annually and have provided an enabling environment for the private sector to start the production of smartphones.
‘Today in Nigeria, we are producing smartphones,’ the minister said.
Giving an account of his stewardship, Pantami said strategies were being deployed by the sector, under his supervision, to support the three-point agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government that include: security, anti-corruption, and economic development.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK