Following a recent report that Nigeria is on its way to producing its own mobile phone and sim cards, the president of the country, Muhammadu Buhari today received the first made in Nigeria cell phone. The locally-made device is called ITF Mobile.
The presentation of the cell phone to the president was made by the Minister of Industry, trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Presenting the phone to the President, Adebayo said it was produced by the Electrical/Electronics Technology Department of the Industrial Training Fund’s (ITF) Model Skills Training Centre, using locally sourced components.
The minister said:
“Twelve indigenous mobile cell phones produced by the Model Skills Training Centre of the Industrial Training Fund; an agency under Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment was launched. It gives me great pleasure Mr President, to present you with one of the phones.”
This development follows a recent announcement by the country’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami that Nigeria now has the wherewithal to produce SIM cards and smartphones. Pantami made this known during a media briefing organised by the ruling party’s (APC) professional forum at the party’s national secretariat.
“When this administration came in, even SIM cards were imported into the country, but as of today, the Federal Government has provided an enabling environment for the private sector and we now have the capacity to produce SIM cards, not only for our consumption but for the African continent. We have the capacity to produce a minimum of 200 million SIMS yearly. We have provided an enabling environment for the private sector to start the production of smartphones,” he explained.
He further said that this was besides the country’s capacity to produce 60-70 per cent of smartphone components and SIM cards locally.
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