The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, says a new blueprint for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry will be out in January 2016.

In a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos on Sunday, Shittu said that the blueprint would transform the ICT sector.

He said that the blueprint would make the ICT industry a cash-cow for the economy.

According to him, the new blueprint will help to transform the ICT industry into a new revenue earner for the country.

“By the grace of God, in mid January, I will be addressing the country on the blueprint for ICT development in the country.

“We have been receiving a lot of inputs from stakeholders across the country and from Nigerians in the diaspora; some of which will form part of the details of the blueprint.

“We have set up two days to do a retreat in Kaduna State in January after which the blueprint will be out.

“Certainly, what you should be assured of is that you have a new minister who is passionate about development.

“A new minister who does things the way they should be done, with a view to developing optimally the sector to generate a lot of employment in the economy.”

The minister said that the planned ICT blueprint would bring about training and retraining of major experts and consequently, generate more revenue for Nigeria.

According to him, government wants to put an end to the dependence on oil, even with the dwindling resources coming through oil.

He gave stakeholders assurances that government would continue to encourage local investment in the ICT sector to enhance growth of the sector.

Shittu also said that a committee, whose membership would comprise public and private sector stakeholders, would be set up to advice government on critical ICT issues that bordered on national development.

He said that the ministry would ensure policy continuity and that the National Broadband Policy would be considered among other issues as part of the new blueprint. (NAN)

•Photo shows Shittu.

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