Digital Nigeria Day: Abiodun Rewards Best Innovator

By Adémólá Òrúnbon

The Ogun State government has said that it would continue to reward the best innovators, students with outstanding results among his/her peers, so as to encourage them, especially in the future challenges.

The State government made this known at the 2021 Digital Nigeria Day celebration, held in Abeokuta, while rewarding the winner of the competition with cash and commitment to advance her course by nurturing her innovative above  incubation stage.

Miss. Rukayat Balogun, who emerged the best among the  youth, developed  a market  guide application which offers business owners and buyers opportunity to know market prices, and seamless advertisement  at their various closet.

She hailed the Governor, Dapo Abiodun for giving her opportunity to showcase  her intelligence through a pitching event competition for young innovators in Information Technology (IT), organized by the State’s Bureau of Information Technology (BIT),  towards encouraging the best amongst them financially, nurture their ideas and recommend them appropriately to the Public, Private and International organizations  that could need their services.

Speaking while joining the programme  virtually, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dayo Abiodun, said the theme for this year; Digital Transformation; A path  for  Sustainable Economy in Government and Private Sector, has been a driving force of the present administration, reiterating government’s readiness to support anyone with  productive ideas that would move the State forward in terms of digital economy.

Abiodun emphasized that the government has achieved tremendously in sustaining digital economy of the State in the last two years, especially on information Technology, saying the establishment of OgunTechHub where I T managers could acquire more knowledge and boost digital innovations for development of the State was in right direction.

He maintained that Dapo Abiodun has improved the lives of female gender by establishing secure and sustainable livelihoods for them using ICT training with an emphasis on a more wholesome IT professional to increase financial returns from technology through its programme called ABOCODERS Female Coding Class.

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In his opening remark, the Special Assistant to the Governor on ICT, Mr. Olakunle Sobola noted that government is passionate on human capital development, noting that thousands of  teachers, youths and entrepreneurs have been trained on IT  for sustainable developmental goals of the State.

In her welcome address, Director, IT, Mrs. Olatundun Adekunte said the present administration  has made positive impacts in Information Technology which has earned the State overall second best State in ICT Penetration and Adoption by the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy in December 2020, among others.

In there separate goodwill messages, Chief Technical Officer, Lead Resources, Mr. Kehinde Sogunle and Head of Department, Computer Science, Crescent University, Dr. Oni Omogbadegun appreciated the State government for its developmental strides in using ICT to sustain State economy, calling on more Private Sector to partner with the State and support citizens with innovations for national development.