Stories by Ayoni M. Agbabiaka with agencies
Stakeholders at the just concluded eNigeria summit have called for a national workshop to review all existing IT regulations and laws in order to ensure a robust legal framework for local content and IT development in Nigeria.
In a communiqué at the end of the three-day event marking its 10th annual ritual, the stakeholders demanded that, “all relevant stakeholders in the ICT industry should as a matter of necessity engage the Federal Ministry of Justice on the promotion and use of technology in our judicial system.
Also, “NITDA should continuously engage the Federal Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly for the review and strengthening of the NITDA Act through an executive amendment bill with more stringent punishment for violation of the NITDA Act or the regulations.
The further agreed that, “the federal government through NITDA should categorize all digital assets in all MDAs in the country to assist in identifying and evaluating the risk assessment and appraisal of how best to secure the assets.
They also stated that NITDA’s IT clearance role should be used to encourage patronage of indigenous products especially by MDAs. Adding that NITDA should partner with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to ensure all local companies have a .ng domain while NITDA IT clearance should be a prerequisite before BPP clears any IT project.
Also, “NITDA’s role in the work of Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) should be strengthened as IT is central to ease of doing business.
They also urged NITDA to build strategic alliances aimed at ensuring that Nigeria domesticates and builds capacity in new and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Technologies and the Internet of things (IOT) among others while creating access to affordable capital through a National ICT Innovation Fund.
The opening ceremony was attended by President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Communications, Barr. Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Muhammed Bello; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) represented by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, Mr. Dayo Apata; Permanent Secretary, representative of the Government of Estonia and the Director-General/Chief Executive, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the host of the event.
Other dignitaries present included the Prof Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Dr. Dan-Azumi Ibrahim, Director General/CEO, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) Executive Secretary, Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF), Alhaji A. A.Boibboi; Managing Director/Chief Executive, Galaxy Backbone Plc, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure; the Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Gashua, Prof Andrew Haruna; Captains of Industries in the Information and Technology sector, Presidents of ICT related professional bodies such as NCS, CPN, ISPON and NGOs.
A total of 2,597 participants from Nigeria and outside the country registered and attended the conference.
The objectives of 2017 edition are to encourage indigenous ICT innovation management for national and economic development; position the nation to benefit from emerging technologies; articulate the imperatives of ICT for effective service delivery; outline a roadmap for national ICT skills development and identify entrepreneurial opportunities and regulatory challenges affecting Local Content promotion and adoption.
