Nigeria at threshold of massive jobs creation with digital broadcasting- Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria now stands on the threshold of massive jobs creation with the launch of Digital Switch Over.

He gave this affirmation on Thursday at the official launch of the Digital Switch Over in Abuja.  Buhari who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the digitalization of the country’s broadcasting industry couldn’t have come at a better time when Nigeria’s economy needs a lifeline.

According to him, “Even if only for the  huge local and international  opportunities for broadcast, media, ICT, entertainment and education, we are right to say that we stand at the threshold of exciting times for job creation, entertainment and in general local and international commerce”.

He said he had been reliably informed that switching on digital broadcasting would provide a lot of opportunities to millions of Nigerian youths in the area of content development.

The president, who noted that the Set-Top boxes available for the Switch-Over in Abuja were produced in Nigeria, stressed that strong partnership with the private sector is the defining strategy of the present administration’s economic plan, restating Nigeria’s resolve to meet the June 2017, DSO deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The successful launch of the pilot scheme in Jos in April, he said to him, has demonstrated the gains of the Digital Switch Over with local industry experiencing a boost from new vista in digital economy and several indigenous companies now producing set-top boxes.

He said the DSO will liberalize access to and increase versatility of media information, interactive programming, two way programming, as well as mobile reception of video, internet and multimedia media data will open up.

Others present at the launch were minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, DG NBC Ishaq Modibbo kawu, Chairman Digiteam Engr Edward Amana amongst others.

He reiterated his promise to make entertainers, artists, small business owners and artisans essential pillars in the country’s economic diversification effort.

Speaking earlier, the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Is’haq Modibbo Kawu said Digital Switch Over would help deepen the democratic process in Nigeria.

He said NBC would create a Digital Access Fund where the N1000 annual TV licence fee paid by each TV owners would be deposited.

He also said the NBC would engage the Nigerian Governors Forum in the next phase of digitisation process.

After Abuja, he said, the next port of call of DSO would be six states in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country.

He said it had been projected that over one million direct and indirect jobs would be created after Nigeria completed its DSO in June, 2017.

The chairman Digiteam Nigeria, Edward Amana said about 26,000 jobs have been created so far through the four Set-Top-Boxes manufacturing companies in Lagos, Ogun, Abuja and Cross-River States.