E-Business
NITDA to Enforce Compliance on Use of Public Internet
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is set to enforce compliance with the Public Internet Access (PIA) Regulation, issued pursuant to Section 6 of the NITDA Act 2007, in line with its mandate of promoting and regulating Information Technology in Nigeria.
The PIA Regulation is a regulatory framework for the provision of internet services in public areas or locations where members of the public have unfettered access.
It provides minimum requirements and processes for provisioning of the public internet access service and mandates compliance reporting to ensure the rules are followed in provisioning of this vital and strategic service.
In a statement by Dr Isa Ibrahim, director general, NITDA, the Agency commended operators who are currently providing the service across Nigeria.
The statement noted: “It is, however, pertinent to note that this service can be misused with great detriment to development of Information Technology and national security, in a manner that may be injurious to the citizens.
“The Federal Government is also concerned about the management and use of the personal information of Nigerians. It is on these considerations that all service providers of public internet service such as IT companies, Restaurants, Hotels and Event Centers are directed to comply with the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation of the NITDA 2019, issued pursuant to Section 6 of the NITDA 2007”
The statement, therefore, said “henceforth, only registered, verified and vetted providers can provide public internet access service in Nigeria.
“Current and prospecting providers are therefore required to register with the Agency in line with the provisions of the Public Internet Access Regulation, 2019 and must submit, on a bi-annual basis, completed compliance reporting forms in the manner prescribed by NITDA. The Public Internet Access (PIA) Registration form and the Public Internet Access Compliance forms are available on the Agency’s website: www.nitda.gov.ng.
“It should be noted that violation of the Regulatory Guidelines of NITDA is a criminal offence and punishable with a fine, imprisonment or both. Members of the public and operators of public internet access service are advised to comply promptly and accordingly.
“The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is a Federal Government Agency established in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy, as well as coordinate general IT development and regulation in the country.
Specifically, Section 6(a, b & m) of the Act mandates NITDA to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices, activities and systems in Nigeria; provide guidelines to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of appropriate infrastructure for information technology and systems application and development in Nigeria for public and private sectors, urban-rural development, the economy and the government; and accelerate internet and intranet penetration in Nigeria and promote sound internet Governance among others.
Gartner predicts that by 2028, 75 percent of enterprise software engineers will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) code assistants, up from less than 10 percent, currently.
According to a Gartner poll of 598 global respondents conducted in the third quarter of 2023, 63 percent of organisations are now testing, deploying, or have previously implemented AI code assistants.
AI code assistants provide for more capabilities than only code development and completion, notes the research firm.
According to Gartner, the use of AI code assistants can lead to higher work satisfaction and retention, resulting in lower turnover costs.
Philip Walsh, senior principal analyst at Gartner, comments: “Software engineering leaders must determine ROI and build a business case as they scale their rollouts of AI code assistants.
“However, traditional ROI frameworks steer engineering leaders toward metrics centred on cost reduction. This narrow perspective fails to capture the full value of AI code assistants.”
Gartner notes that software engineering leaders must “reframe the ROI conversation from cost reduction to value generations”.
Walsh adds: “Calculating time savings on code generation is a good place to begin building a more robust value story. To convey the full enterprise value story for AI code assistants, software engineering leaders should connect value enablers to impacts, and then analyse the overall return to the organisation.”
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that the planned national ID card will be issued to applicants by their banks.
NIMC said it is working with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to deliver the cards to applicants.
“The card will be issued through the applicants’ respective banks in line with existing protocols with the issuance of the Debit/Credit cards,” the agency said at the weekend update on its official X handle.
KEY FACTS ABOUT THE PROPOSED NEW GENERAL MULTIPURPOSE NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD
- The new National ID Card is a single, convenient, and General multipurpose card (GMPC) , eliminating the need for multiple cards—not three.
- The single GMPC has multiple use cases:…
— NIMC (@nimc_ng) April 12, 2024
It said applicants need to request their cards with their NIN “through the self-service online portal, NIMC offices, or their respective banks”.
“The card will be powered by the AFRIGO card scheme, an indigenous scheme powered by NIBSS,” NIMC said.
“The card can be picked up by holders at the designated center or delivered to the applicants at the requested location at an extra cost to be borne by the applicants,” the update read.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said that the new national Identity card, powered by AfriGo Card, is a single card with multiple services.
NIMC made the clarification against the confusion and criticisms that have trailed the AfriGo Card , touted as a National Domestic Card Scheme.
NIMC is launching the AfriGo Card, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS), and has had appointed SecureID, a Lagos headquartered company to manufacture the Card Scheme
Making clarification on the card, Kayode Adegoke, head of Corporate Communications of the NIMC, said the General multipurpose card (GMPC) will eliminate the need for multiple cards.
“The new National ID Card is a single, convenient, and General multi-purpose card (GMPC), eliminating the need for multiple cards—not three.
“The single GMPC has multiple use cases: Payments/Financial, Government intervention/services, travel, etc.
“The National Identity Management Commission is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System to deliver the payment and financial use cases.
“The card will be powered by the AFRIGO card scheme, an indigenous scheme powered by NIBSS. Applicants for the card will have to request with their NIN through the self-service online portal, NIMC offices, or their respective banks.
“The card will be issued through the applicants’ respective banks, in line with existing protocols with the issuance of the Debit/Credit cards.
“The card can be picked up by holders at the designated centre or delivered to the applicants at the requested location at an extra cost to be borne by the applicants,” he said.
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