Lagos State Government has concluded plans to transform the Sabo Industrial Estate in Yaba into a Technology Hub and another Silicon Valley where a new set of entrepreneurs will be raised to address the challenges confronting the nation in the ICT sector.

The State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Hakeem Popoola Fahm who disclosed this  explained that the State government saw the need to embrace software development and key into its vast available employment opportunities to drastically reduce the problem of youth mass unemployment, stressing that the present administration has set up a Committee on the ICT Hub and all hands are on deck to ensure a successful implementation.

Fahm noted that upon successful implementation of the ICT Hub, Lagos State will become the catalyst for IT penetration and enablement in Nigeria and Africa.

In his words, “One of the benefits of the hub is to promote knowledge, employment generation, wealth creation and economic prosperity for the citizens of the State and Government”.

He said that ICT is more of a tool than a need itself as the growth of ICT in the State has affected every aspect of human life as virtually every aspect of our lives has a digital dimension.

Speaking on the Smart City Initiative, the Commissioner said it is an all-encompassing project that will holistically address all sectors of the economy, noting that the need for a smart city arises from global advancements in Technology and its ability to impact speedily in almost all challenges facing a Megacity like Lagos.

“The main objective of the Lagos Smart City initiative is to connect human capital, social capital and ICT infrastructure in order to address public issues, achieve a sustainable development and increase the quality of life of its citizens within the shortest possible time”, he enthused.

Fahm asserted that the Citizens Gate project, which is aimed at facilitating online interaction, communication and connectivity between the citizen and the State Government, has captured 22 critical Ministries, Departments and Agencies in its first phase in 2017, revealing that an additional 95 MDAs will soon be added to the portal within the next few weeks for completion of the second phase.

He said the Ministry has continued to make remarkable progress through the e-governance platform by providing portals for the verification/processing of vehicle registration on www.lsmvaapvs.org while the platform for processing of drivers’ licence is underway.

The Commissioner assured that the State government will soon provide additional Wi-Fi access at bus terminals and several parks/gardens in addition to such facility already existing at the Ndubuisi Kanu; Johnson, Jakande & Tinubu as well as Muri Okunola Parks in Lagos.