Lagos — Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe, at the weekend, said Nigeria must embrace Information and Communication Technology if she must achieve her vision 2020.

The Federal Government had said that Nigeria was working towards becoming one of the top twenty economies of the world by the year 2020.

Ndukwe who spoke at the Nigerian Telecom Development Lecture (NITDEL) in Lagos organised by Logica Communications, said ICT could assist in the delivery of social services and that investment in ICT is paramount to any nation that seeks fast development.

According to him, "investment goes to places where it is welcomed and countries that welcome investment stand to grow fast."

Ndukwe said two new reports from World Bank and the World Economic Forum underlined the fact that economic development depends on overall progress in a country's ICT sector and that without such progress, both economies and companies suffer.

He listed broadband and wireless connectivity as key in economic development. He added that two major technologies, digital mobile phones and the internet are currently driving a new level of connectivity that were hitherto unknown and are enabling various transactions to be carried out over high capacity modern networks on anywhere, anytime basis, adding that the content flowing over such modern networks includes not only emails and telephone calls, but also music, movies and television, demanding huge amounts of bandwidth.

Speaking on broadband connectivity, Ndukwe said it enables people to use one universal network to support any and all media.

The telecom lecture with the theme: "In Search Of Good Governance" featured three erudite speakers, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke; and Lagos State Police Commissioner, Marvel Akpoyibo.

The Lagos Governor who was represented by the General Manager, Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA), Joe Igbokwe, spoke on e-governance and its advantages in economic development.

Donald Duke spoke on Good Governance in a Democratic Society, while Marvel Akpoyibo spoke on Evolution of a Secured Nigeria: Its Pitfalls and Practicality.

The lecture was attended by former President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and his wife, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo; President of Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), Lanre Ajayi; among other top dignitaries and was chaired by former Ambassador to South Africa, Amb. Shehu Malami.

The lecture ended with awards ceremony the next day, where people were awarded for their contributions to economic development.