afrol News, 31 July - The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, has promised to "rejuvenate the telecommunication industry and take it to greater height." He urged the sector's staff to redouble its work to make Nigeria reach international standards.

Minister Adebayo gave this assurance at his maiden meeting with senior officials of the Ministry and its Parastatals in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, according to a communiqué from the government.

At the Abuja meeting, Chief Adebayo had also expressed "regret that Nigeria is lagging far behind her peers in the world in the area of telecommunications development," a sector given growing importance throughout Africa.

The Nigerian telecommunication sector has been a sector of turbulence for several years, slowing down efforts to have it brought at acceptable standards. Only in March this year, a privatisation programme once again was re-launched by the government. Foreign investors are now being sought to take over 51 percent of NITEL, the national phone operator.

In this situation, Minister Adebayo charged the staff of his Ministry to be prepared to "move at a faster speed than before" in order to ensure that the country "catches up with the rest of the world" as well as meet the yearnings and aspirations of the citizens.

According to the government release, Mr Adebayo "solicited the cooperation of the staff of the Ministry in his bid to achieving the Ministry's set goals."

Chief Adebayo had also stressed the need for government to be nearer to the people than it is at the moment, stressing that he would wish to be a part of the process to bring that about.

The Minister was further quoted saying that he had accepted the challenges to provide a new lease of leadership with a view to ensuring equitable distribution of telecom services to Nigerians.

- So much is expected of the Ministry by the citizens, he said, promising to "perform to the satisfaction of God and Mr President, while not disappointing Nigerians and generally making government meet the citizens' expectations."

Speaking at the occasion, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Gideon Asiegbu promised the cooperation of the management and staff of the Ministry to the Minister, the Nigerian government assures.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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