Nigeria’s first indigenous and largest automobile manufacturer and West Africa’s largest plastic-processing manufacturer, Innoson Group, is partnering with a consortium of Chinese investors to invest $1billion into Nigeria’s Information And Communication Technology (ICT) sector.
Today in Abuja, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received the consortium of Chinese investors led by Liu Baoju, a Deputy Minister of the Communist Party of China in Shandong Province, who is equally the chairman of the world’s biggest TV operators, the Shandong Broadcasting Group.
Acording to reports, the investment plan includes a $400million investment in Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) project by 2017 and an additional $600million to cover other important sectors of the economy.
The $400million is split thus: $300million of financial foreign investment credit facility for the local production and supply of five to eight million Set-Top Boxes to support the government’s DSO project being handled by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission. And $100million of financial foreign investment to establish the latest technology and biggest Direct-To-Home (DTH) Digital BING Television Station across all states of Nigeria.
Negotiations for a follow-up investment of $600billion is currently underway, and almost concluded with strategic Chinese partners to cover the instalments of Smart City (CCTV camera) all over Nigeria, Cloud Computing Total Solution on Taxation with IT applications for institutions like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other taxation agencies to promote a seamless and stress-free tax collection mechanism; and an E-Education IT Solutions with data centres for all Federal Universities and Polytechnics in the country.
According to Cornel Osigwe, the Public Relations manager and Media Assistant of Innoson Group, the investment would assist Nigeria in becoming the manufacturing hub for Set-Top-Box in Africa with the attendant benefit of earning foreign exchange through exports from Innoson Manufacturing Complex.
In addition, the BING TV Project will engage the Nigerian Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) situated at the Obasanjo Space Centre in Abuja with its numerous benefits of saving foreign exchange by buying into Nigeria available goods and services, instead of engaging foreign satellite and transponders as is the norm in the country.
The investment in CCTVs and cloud computing technology is expected to provide adequate national security against abductions, insurgency, militancy, and other forms of dangerous crimes.
