As the federal government intensifies effort to develop the telecom sector, indications have emerged that 44 million persons now use the internet in Nigeria.
This came as the federal government Saturday in Abuja mandated all government agencies to migrate from foreign domains currently being used to .ng for purposes of security.
Speaking at a one day workshop on Domain Name Registration and Management, organised by the Nigerian Internet Registration Association, the Director General of National Information Techno-logy Development Agency, Professor Cleopas Angaye, observed that the level of ICT penetration in the country also called for development of efforts to serve the indigenous market, attract foreign investment and contribute to the gross domestic product.
Giving details of the current internet penetration in Nigeria, Angaye said: “The Nigeria internet population witnessed tremendous growth with a boost from 2,418,679 users in 2005 to an estimated number of about 10 million users in 2008 and currently over 44 million internet users, thereby, positioning Nigeria as one of the fastest growing internet users in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Clarifying government’s directive to all agencies to commence the use of .ng domain, a representative of the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, Mrs Moni Udoh, warned that sanctions will be handed down to any government establishment that failed to adhere to the order.
“A mass migration to the .ng domain by MDAs and other Nigerians will ensure the implementation of the first step in our e-governance strategy aimed at connecting government within itself and thus reduce the overall cost of governance,” she explained.
Earlier, president of NIRA, Mrs Mary Uduma, said with efforts to streamline the enabling policy framework for .ng domain, it will soon be an offense for any government not to be on the .gov.ng domain.
According to Uduma, the .ng domain will assist in domesticating both government and private sector activities, as well as ensure that the tenets of Nigerian sovereignty and national security are properly maintained.