From Oluseye Ojo, and Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ibrahim Pantami on Tuesday said the Federal Government has embarked on massive investment in the area, of public digital infrastructure, saying the government will continue to emphasise the importance and dominance of technology in day-to-day life of Nigerians, whether in the urban centres or rural areas.
He made the disclosure in his keynote address at the opening of the 9th NIPOST (Nigerian Postal Service) Sports Festival, tagged Ibadan 2022, holding from November 29 to December 18, 2022. He officially declared the festival open.
According to him, “the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under my watch, will continue to emphasise the importance and dominance of technology in our day-to-day life. The importance of sports in any organisation cannot be overemphasised. This is where our youth play significant role. The use of technology is unlikely to decline, but will instead increase, even in the rural areas as government has embarked upon massive investment in the areas of public digital infrastructure.
Pantami, who was represented by the Chairman, NIPOST Governing Board, Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, said: “For these investments to be fully effective, digital literacy skills would further be strengthened with continual education to keep pace with rapidly changing global technologies. Technology in sports plays an essential role in helping athletes from different sports to evolve their performance in preparations and tournaments. Monitoring the progress of matches has also become easier and more efficient using smart devices.
“Sports has a number of advantages; it provides a fantastic variety of individual activities, instills discipline, fosters unity and encourages socialisation.”
The Postmaster-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Sunday Adepoju, in his goodwill message, remarked that all over the world, sports have been a sort of uniting factor, adding that NIPOST could not be an exception. He further noted that the importance of the sports festival could not be overemphasised.
His words: “We know all over the world that sport is the only uniting factor keeping people together and NIPOST can not be an assertion when it comes to organising something like this. It has afforded us to come together in the past and the same thing we are doing today. People came from a far distance to have a feel of what is happening in Ibadan.
“The only uniting thing we have in Nigeria and all over the world is sport, where you put your ethnic background, religion, political affiliation, and all those things apart and come together as one… We want to see NIPOST members participating at the national and international level. We have talented people in NIPOST. Under this new management, we are going to support you to realise your potentials.”
National President, NIPOST Sports and Social Club, Mallam Abubakar Usman, explained that the NIPOST Sports Festival is a biennial event, where talented NIPOST sports men and women assemble to compete for honours in various sporting events.
“The festival will witness more than 1,000 contingents competing for honours in various sporting events such as athletics, badminton, egg race, football, lawn tennis, table tennis, postmen race, tug of war, and volleyball.”
The highlight of the event was a novelty football match between NIPOST top management, captioned by the Postmaster-General and the state postal master’s team. He added that the NIPOST Sports and Social Club is not only about sports but also an avenue for socialisation and interaction among staff, bearing in mind that sport is a unifying factor.
