Group harps on accelerating Abuja smart city initiative

By Stanley Onyekwere

A group, the Havel Corporate Concept, an affiliate of ioSafe Nigeria has taken initiative towards accelerating the transformation of Abuja into a smart city.

This was disclosed by Dr. Ahmed Badanga, Chief Executive Officer of the group, and the convener of Abuja Smart City Project, after leading a road walk from Federal Secretariat to Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) complex Area 11, yesterday in Abuja,

Badanga explained that the Abuja Smart City Project, which would be implemented in collaboration with critical stakeholders, would make 40 services, including governance, transport, tourism, health, business, and homes smarter.

He noted that FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike’s  investment in physical infrastructure development and other sectors was already transforming the city into a befitting capital city.

He added that beyond infrastructure, there was also the need for technology to drive the city and make access to critical services automated and smart.

The CEO said Abuja has the needed infrastructure that could be tapped to make it smart like any other country.

He said: “The essence of tomorrow’s discussion is to bring stakeholders together to unveil the strategic road map on the smart city project.

“The strategic road map is going to contain what we are trying to do to make Abuja smart like any other smart city in the world. We are also going to be unveiling the logo of the smart city project.”

Furthermore, the convener disclosed that project would be delivered in phases from 2024 to 2040, adding that the vision was to transform Abuja into a technologically driven city like Dubai and Hong Kong by 2040.

He identified some of the partners in the implementation of the project as Galaxy Backbone, National Information Technology Development Agency, Nigerian Communications Commission and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Others, according to him, were the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, FCT Administration, and FCDA.

On his part, Head of FCDA’s Information and Communication Technology(ICT), affirmed that the authority would play a critical role in the implementation of the project.

Oke added the project would ensure that infrastructural development in the city and municipal services were automated, noting that developed countries were driving services and infrastructure through the smart city initiative.

Earlier, in his remarks, founder of ioSafe Nigeria, Mr. Robb Moore, who was in Abuja, from the United States of America for the first time, lauded the smart city initiative.

Moore opineeld that he came to share his experience from Silicon Valley on how to tap into technology to drive the city for the comfort of FCT residents.

“We are going to be talking a lot about smart cities and smart data at the conference and how to make Abuja and Nigeria grow.

“I will talk about what I have learned in Silicon Valley – growing companies, starting companies, selling companies and how Nigeria can use technology to grow stronger”, he stated.