NITDA to Focus on Seven Key Priorities- Pantami

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has mapped out seven key areas of interest to its developmental agenda, just as Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, the director general‎ continued to ‎familiarise himself with industry stakeholders.

Dr. Pantami who was speaking‎ immediately after receiving ‘Special Recognition Award’ presented to the Agency at the National Information Technology Awards (NITMA 2016) organised by the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) at Muson‎ Centre, Lagos on Wednesday, reiterated that the Agency will focus on its core regulatory mandate.

He said since assumption of office, he has been working strategically with the Management and the entire Staff towards transforming NITDA from an Administrative outlook to IT-Driven agency, and from an unnecessary contract awarding to a knowledge-based agency.

Dr. Pantami said, “The process of developing the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in a society as diverse and complex as ours is quite daunting.  However, the potential benefits of developing such a critical sector of our economy far outweigh whatever challenges such a process may entail.  A well-developed IT sector will significantly improve our economy. It will reduce capital flight, create jobs, generate revenue and help to position Nigeria as an IT hub for the Region.

“As we join hands to develop the sector, I wish to request your support in the following 7 key areas: Regulation;

Capacity Building;‎ Local Content Development & Promotion; Digital Job Creation; Government Digital Service Promotion; Cyber Security; and Revenue Generation”.

He added that ‎considering the wide scope of NITDA’s mandate and the need to channel limited resources appropriately, they have identified these seven areas as areas of priority.

“We will give a renewed emphasis to regulation and will ensure that we develop standards and guidelines for different aspects of the IT sector.  In addition, we will put the necessary machinery in place to ensure compliance.

“The need for effective capacity building efforts cannot be over emphasized. We plan to support the training of thousands of our youth in order to provide them with entrepreneurship and ICT skills. Our scholarship programme will also be reviewed to enable us to strike a balance between the economic realities we face as a result of the high forex rate and the need to give our best and brightest a chance to study in leading IT nations,” he said.

The DG NITDA added that they will take the issue of local content very seriously.  “We will encourage, celebrate and patronize Made-in-Nigeria solutions, but will also ensure that such products meet strict quality standards.

“IT has the potential to generate revenue for the government.  The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector contributed 12.62% to the total nominal GDP in the 2nd Quarter of 2016, up from its 12.25% contribution in the 1st Quarter. We want to put things in place to significantly increase the contribution of ICT to the economy,” he explained.

Speaking on the NITMA Award, he said, ‎”I am delighted to attend this Information Technology Merit Award and Fellowship Conferment ceremony.  It provides a good opportunity to encourage the stakeholders of the industry for their effort in the past year and it also provides an opportunity to encourage stakeholders to redouble their efforts in the upcoming year.  I wish to commend the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) for this timely and important service to the industry. I am proud of NCS.

‎”On behalf of the management and entire staff of NITDA, I wish to express my gratitude to the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) family for the great support you gave us last week during eNigeria 2016.  We are happy with the partnership that you have forged with NITDA over the years, and I am eager and willing to strengthen this partnership”.