The Federal Government through the National Information Technology Development Agency (Nitda), a parastatal of the Ministry of Communication Technology is set to enforce the use of Made-in-Nigeria IT products by government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
The riot act is an irony of some sort when Nitda’s offices and even the presidency are furnished with imported IT products.
It is also confusing which products are banned when Nigeria cannot produce switches, routers, mainframes and others.
But Prof. Cleopas Angaye, director-general, Nitda, told the ongoing retreat on Draft Guidelines for Made-in-Nigeria IT hardware products in Lagos that the implementation of the local patronage scheme is to foster growth of the local ICT sector.
He said that there is need now to benchmark practices and processes against international standards to make our IT products competitive and marketable within and outside the country .
According to him, the retreat is Nitda’s initiative to give impetus to the buy-made-in-Nigeria policy of the federal government.
“In giving accreditation to local OEMs, the intention of the Federal Government was to develop the indigenous IT industry, create employment through local assembly of computers and build the capacity of Nigerian IT entrepreneurs. This can only be achieved if Nigerians patronize local brands. This policy is mandatory for the public sector where the products to be procured are manufactured or assembled in Nigeria” the Nitda boss added.
He said that after the retreat and the issuance of the guidelines, it will be regarded as economic sabotage if MDAs do not patronize Nigerian I.T. products.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the government had in past read similar acts but lacked the will to implement them.
It has not also shown example as most top government functionaries still brandish latest foreign IT products openly.