Minister Presents Locally Manufactured Cell Phone To Buhari

Minister of Industry, trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, on Wednesday, presented a made in Nigeria cell phone to President Muhammadu Buhari.

He did the presentation of the phone named ITF Mobile shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting being presided over by the president.

It is the second of such phones manufactured in the country after the handset launched by AfriOne Limited in Lagos in 2017.

Adebayo affirmed that the phone is one of the 12 produced by the Electrical/Electronics Technology Department of the Industrial Training Fund’s (ITF) Model Skills Training Centre using locally sourced components.

He 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.”

Speaking to correspondents at the end of the council meeting, he explained: “Before Council started today, I had the honour of making a presentation to Mr President.

At the 12th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment, held in December 2020, the Model Skills Training Centre, which is part of Industrial Training Fund, an agency under my Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, presented and launched a first digital mobile phone.

“So, I had the honour and privilege of presenting a sample of the phone to Mr President today at the FEC meeting.

“This is a sample of the phone that was presented and I have brought it here just to show you so that you will see what we have produced as a made in Nigeria mobile phone that was made by the Model Skills Training Centre of the Industrial Training Fund.”

Asked about the cell phone launched by AfriOne Limited in 2017, Adebayo said he was not briefed about it.

Meanwhile, at Wednesday’s FEC, President Buhari also presided over the swearing-in of one Commissioner each, for the National Population Commission and the Federal Civil Service Commission ahead of deliberations at the cabinet meeting.

Those sworn-in were Wakil Bukar as Commissioner of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCC) and Mohammed Dattijo Usman as Commissioner of the National Population Commission (NPC).

Bukar is to replace the FCC Commissioner from Bauchi State while Usman replaces the NPC Commissioner from Niger State. Representatives from the two States died recently.

Among those who physically attended the meeting were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.

Others include the Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Finance, Zainab Ahmed, Justice, Abubakar Malami and Trade and investment; Adebayo.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan and other Ministers participated in the meeting from their various offices in Abuja.