Obasanjo, Imoke, Ovia Bag NCS Honorary Fellowships

Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) will confer Honorary Fellowships on Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, Senator Liyel  Imoke, governor of Cross River State and Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank Plc at the upcoming National Information Technology Merit Awards (NITMA).

NITMA is the most prestigious and recognized award ceremony within Nigeria’s IT community, and this year’s ceremony will be held on December 14, 2012 in Lagos.

During the ceremony deserving individuals who have distinguished themselves with exceptional achievement and service that has accelerated IT development in Nigeria, will be honoured with Honorary Fellowships.

NCS appreciates and recognizes the immense contributions of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Senator Liyel  Imoke and Mr. Jim Ovia to the growth of IT  in Nigeria, which are deserving of honour.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector experienced accelerated development during Chief Obasanjo’s tenure as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

His vision and unparallel passion for the development of the ICT sector led to the establishment of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Galaxy Backbone, launching of SAT 3 by Nigeria Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), National Communication Commission (NCC), Computerize Nigeria to encourage the use of made in Nigeria computer systems, among others.

The deregulation and liberalization of telecommunications services embarked on by the Obasanjo administration touched the life of every Nigerian in a revolutionary manner. His transformation of the sector not only created jobs in significant numbers all across the country but more importantly made communication easy and possible for all Nigerians.

Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank plc and former Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank introduced a great deal of technology driven innovations into the Nigerian banking industry.

Being the first President of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), he is not only an avid ICT promoter, but has also invested massively in Nigeria’s technology sector.

He is promoter and founder of Visafone Communications Limited and has led several national IT related initiatives such as the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI), the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC) and the National Broadband committee.

Ovia is in addition the founder of the Youth Empowerment / ICT Foundation, which focuses on improving the socio-economic welfare of Nigerian youths by inspiring and motivating them to embrace Information and communication technology.

Senator Liyel Imoke, governor of Cross River has advanced technology development not only in his state, but in the South South region and nationally.

Through his leadership Cross River state has implemented technology projects that have improved education, public service delivery and job creation.

An apostle of innovation, his administration has invested massively in IT deployment and he is a public servant that has continually used his high visibility and influence as Senator and Governor to support and advance the cause of technology development in Nigeria.

He is the engine behind the establishment of the world class knowledge cluster known as the Tinapa Knowledge City (TKC).

Furthermore, under his watch, Cross River state has aggressively supported and invested in the promotion of software development in Nigeria by single handedly hosting several National Software Conferences organized by the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), an NCS interest group.  Senator Liyel Imoke is a seasoned administrator, innovation champion and technology evangelist.

NCS, the nation’s foremost network of Information Technology (IT) practitioners and stakeholders, appreciates these distinguished individuals who are personalities of no mean caliber in Nigeria’s society.

They richly deserve the honour of Honorary Fellow awards of our great society in recognition of their outstanding contributions to IT development in Nigeria.

By conferring these Honorary Fellowships NCS highlights the importance of recognizing and celebrating those that have contributed tremendously towards the development and deployment of Information Technology in Nigeria.