The Federal Government recently said that it would be able to monitor the movement of crude oil and gas out of the country through the implementation of the e-Government Master Plan 2020.
It said that since crude oil was the country’s major source of revenue, it had re-enforced the implementation of the master plan to stop leakages in the system.
The Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, stated this at an engagement workshop on the e-Government Master Plan 2020 in Abuja.
The master plan is envisaged as a tidy roadmap for integrating governance into the post-modern global Information and Communications Technology age for the purpose of matchless efficiency, accountability and transparency.
He said, “By 2020 and beyond, the government, at the click of computer buttons, should be able to accurately monitor in real-time the amount of crude oil and gas that is being taken out of Nigeria every day.
“By 2020 and beyond, the government should be able to pay pensions electronically to pensioners without their having to stand endlessly in queues. The list goes on and on.”
The minister said that before 2014, Nigeria’s ranking in the United Nations e-Government Development Index was dismal.
He, however, said that in 2014 there was an insignificant improvement, which, he said, could be adduced to Nigeria’s further recognition of ICT as a positive catalyst to development through the creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Communications.
He added, “It is my considered opinion that, as a nation, we can do much better in this ranking, and consequently in our economic development by improving our governance processes through the holistic adoption of e-Government best practices.
