Lagos – Anambra State Physical Planning Board, ANSPPB, has won the ‘Beacon of ICT’ awards, on e-Government Solutions Implementation, BOICT.
The plaque was presented to the Executive Chairman of ANSPPB, Barrister Chukwunweike Maduekwe on Saturday, during the 12th edition of Beacon of Information and Communication Technology Lecture and Awards event which held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The award, according to the organizers, was predicated on the ability of Anambra State government to implement online building approval portal that greatly reduced the time of obtaining and processing building permits from three months to about a week or less and other initiatives of the state in that regard.
Major ICT companies and players like etranzact, itel, techno, oppo, Reliance Infosystems, FPG Technologies & Solutions LTD, MTN, infobip, Medallion Communications Limited and others received awards in various categories.
In his welcome address, the Founder of Nigeria Communications Week- organizers of BOICT Awards, Ken Nwogbo said the year’s theme, ” 5G: Exploring New Frontiers For Superior Service Delivery,” was adopted because of the ‘buzz around 5G network’.
He opined that 5G if harnessed to the fullest potential, will feed accelerated rise of the internet of things and enable a smarter and more connected world.
Mr. Nwogbo revealed that the awards were merit-centric and designed to reward individuals and firms that have helped make life better for Nigerians.
The Keynote Speaker and Chief Executive Officer of Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, Mr. Muhammad Rudman, who spoke on the topic, “How 5G can help Internet Service Delivery,” noted that the network was not as dangerous as its being speculated in some quarters.
“It is important that all the stereotypes about the 5G is cleared and the people’s minds disabused from such unconfirmed insinuations. Every other machine emits radiation and other dangerous gases. 5G (fifth generation network) is not harmful to health,” he said.
Speaking after receiving the award, the Anambra State Governent representative, Barrister Maduekwe who is also the Special Adviser to Governor Willie Obiano on Digital Economy, revealed that ANSPPB polled the highest number of votes in the category during the voting stage because of internet solutions it adopted in the state that crashed building approval processes/time from three months to one week or less.
He noted that the process which was open to industry stakeholders and enthusiasts months before the awards, was transparent.
“I wish to commend Governor Obiano for all his policies and programmes aimed at improving access to broadband Internet service in the state. These have availed huge positive impact on the people and economy,” said.
Maduekwe disclosed that Anambra became the first state in Nigeria to completely waive the Right-of-Way(RoW) charges for fiber optic cables and convened the first broadband stakeholder’s forum which was attended albeit virtually by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ali Pantami, Governor of Kaduna State, Nasri Elrufai, Governor Willie Obiano, UK representative, Facebook Team and other ICT and Telecom stakeholders.
Other speakers/award recipients like Charles Emembolu of Crestsage Limited, Emeka Nwogbo of M-P Infrastructures appreciated the organizers of the event for doing a thorough job during the voting stage and the eventual hosting of the ceremony.
