- Saminu Turaki
Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki (born
14 July 1963 ) is a Nigerianpolitician and formergovernor ofJigawa State in Nigeria, a post which he has held from29 May 1999 to29 May 2007 . He is a member of thePeople's Democratic Party of Nigeria (PDP). He was elected in 1999 and re-elected in2003 on the platform of theAll Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).Education
Saminu Turaki attended Federal Government College Kaduna and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) where he obtained a Bachelors Degree in Actuarial Science in 1985.
Policy priorities
Saminu Turaki's stated goal is to transform Jigawa state from an agricultural state to a state with an information technology economy. He has undertaken the construction of a Jigawa State
Broadband Network at a cost of several billionnaira . The project is asatellite based communication facility for delivery of a broad range of multimedia services encompassingvideo ,audio anddata . It is first of it kind in Nigeria and the biggest inAfrica . The Jigawa Network is controlled by a main earth station located in the state capital,Dutse , with uplink and downlink facilities to the satellite. TheDutse Teleport authenticates and controls all access signals transmitted to and from any system linked to the network.The aim of the state was to produce 300 IT graduates annually and be the regional hub for
software development and for assembly ofhardware by2015 and achieve 100% computerisation of key government activities by2007 . To learn from others, the state administration sponsored hundreds of its youth to study B. Sc. Computer and Computer Engineering inSingapore .See: "
List of Governors of Jigawa State "
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