Sokoto, Kebbi and Imo state governments
have yet to unveil their new websites months after they commenced upgrading
work on them.
Findings on Monday showed that websites of
the three state governments were still suspended just as their operators said
they were undergoing an upgrading process.
Information Edge had reported that the
Katsina, Sokoto, Imo and Kebbi state governments suspended their official
portals to have them rebuilt to meet modern interactive communication needs of
the public.
When our correspondent visited
sokotostate.gov.ng, the official site of the Sokoto State Government, on
Monday, it was left frozen with a message – “We are working hard to improve our
website and we will be ready to launch in one week and three days’ time.”
In early September, the same message was
found on the blank digital space. Back then, the state government said the
reconstruction, which was still in progress on Monday, would take a week and
two days.
The Kebbi State Government also announced
on its suspended site that it would launch its site soon as what it had were
sampled pages of what the developer was working on. As of Monday, the
notice was still displayed on the almost-blurred portal.
“Kebbistate.com is dedicated to the
development of Kebbi State. We will, work as a team, make Kebbi State greater.
Please check back regularly for updates. We hope to help in raising political
awareness concerning what it means to be a Kebbian. After all, we are all in
this together.
“Together, we can ensure better life for
future generations of Kebbians. Equally, you can inform your computer-literate
friends and associates to check the website regularly and email us their names
and phone numbers, as we embark on a project to compile names, phone numbers
and email addresses of all our indigenes, who are passionately and actively
working for Kebbi State's development,” the government noted.
Katsina State Government was among states
in the North-West that put up their sites for reconstruction earlier. As of
Monday, its katsina.gov.ng could not be traced on the cyberspace much less
viewing its current status. The site may have been taken down after a report on
its dormant state.
In the South-East, the Imo State
Government, in August, also suspended its domain – imostate.gov.ng – to have it
upgraded.
As of Monday evening, a message displayed
on the immobile site said it would be unveiled in seven hours’ time.
The state government said it was carrying
out some maintenance to improve on the performance of the site. It called on
interested visitors to drop a message via a dialogue box provided on the
demobilised site.
There have not been improvements on the
performances of state government-operated digital platforms. From South-West to
North-West and South-East to North-East, the story is almost the same. State
governments’ platforms are either abandoned completely or not regularly
updated.
A few states are, in worse cases, not
linked to functional websites. For instance, Kaduna and Zamfara state
governments have no functional web presence.
The digital status of the Kaduna State
Government, especially, contradicts Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s soaring social
media profile.
With 670,000 Twitter followers, el-Rufai
is currently the most-followed Nigerian politician on Twitter. The governor
surpasses, for instance, President Muhammadu Buhari’s combined followers on
@NGRPresident and @MBuhri.
On Facebook as well, el-Rufai’s verified
account is active and highly-rated in terms of visibility. His Facebook
followers are over 500, 000. His just-unveiled official Twitter page –
@GovKaduna – is also gaining relevance by the day; it has over 8,000 users to
its credit already.
In the South-South, Edo State Government
also operates an obscure website. Just like Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the
state government does not have a page on any social media site. Its website,
apart from the historical facts it contains, is rarely updated.
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