We have begun steps to integrate blockchain into the national economy – Pantami

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved the blockchain policy to be institutionalized in Nigeria.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isah Pantami, disclosed this while briefing journalists on what transpired at the weekly FEC meeting.

He said the national blockchain policy for Nigeria would affect all sectors of the economy, including the electoral process by means of guaranteed data management.
Although it was earlier launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 28, 2019, Pantami explained that the concept has eight pillars.

“To consolidate the implementation of the new technology pillar, the Federal Government of Nigeria today approved the National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria. This policy was developed through consultation with our stakeholders.
“About 56 institutions and personalities were involved in the process of conceptualising, developing and revising the policy. With the approval of the National Blockchain Policy for Nigeria today, we can confidently say that blockchain technology with all its components and types has been institutionalized in the country,” he told journalists.
Emphasizing how the policy would positively impact Nigeria, Pantanmi said a study by Price Waterhouse Coopers PwC predicted that by 2030, blockchain technology could add US$1.76 trillion to global GDP.

According to the minister, African countries have been left out of the equation in the first, second and third industrial revolutions.
He said that it is only in the fourth industrial revolution that we are not far away from the developed countries and therefore it becomes important for us to be proactive.

“With this approval. We join the very few countries that have legalized and approved blockchain in their accounts such as the UK, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Georgia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. These are the few countries. They are not many. So now we have joined them and we are proactive to ensure that with the policy we will increase our talent development.

“We want to discover our young innovators, give them all the necessary support they need as provided by the Nigeria Startup Act 2022 and also ensure that the technology is adopted, especially as we know that blockchain technology ensures information integrity or data integrity.

“It is also relevant even for the Independent National Electoral Commission, where you have to preserve the integrity of data by adopting blockchain technology. In the process, we will come to a situation where content or information or data at their disposal cannot be changed. So with this the approval, the blockchain and all its components and types have been approved in Nigeria and regulatory bodies shall immediately develop the regulatory instruments in the sector for effective implementation and adoption, he told State House correspondents.