NCS Calls for Rechristening of Ministry of Communications

Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has said that present parent ministry- Federal Ministry of Communications which houses three key agencies should be renamed Federal Ministry of Communication Technology to capture the entire ICT sector.

This is in in continuation of NCS advocacy against the proposed relocation of National Information and Development Agency (NITDA); Galaxy Backbone; and Nigeria Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) from the Federal Ministry of Communications to the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

Professor ‘Sola Aderounmu, NCS’ president, said, “Given the importance of Information and Communication Technology to the Nation’s Economic Revival and Diversification, Nigeria Computer Society strongly recommends that:

“The three Agencies (NITDA, NigcomSat and Galaxy Backbone) should remain under the Federal Ministry of Communications for better performance, networking, coordination, cooperation and collaboration in other to produce better output;

“The Federal Government should empower the Federal Ministry of Communications financially to improve on strategies to achieve gross earnings from the ICT sector, generate employment and wealth creation; ‎

“The Federal Government should streamline/merge some agencies under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology...", the statement read.

‎The concept of relocating the three agencies, the Society lamented, will set the nation more than 15 years behind its development plans.

President Muhammadu Buhari, appointed Barrister Adebayo Shittu as the minister of Communications and not Minister of Communications Technology.

Since then the Ministry seemed to have focused on Communication with little emphasis on technology; which NCS advised the Federal Government to amend the laws governing the agencies and Ministry accordingly.