Okere to Chair NIGF 2014

Mr. Austin Okere, group managing director and chief executive officer, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) plc, has been named as the chairman of the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) 2014.

Confirming this development, Mrs. Mary Uduma, chairperson of the Local Multi-stakeholders Advisory Group (LMAG) of the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum, said that Okere has accepted to preside over this year’s edition of the event to be held at the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Center, Onikan-Lagos on June 10, 2014.

According to her, LMAG is excited to have Okere chair the event as his nomination and acceptance was unanimously endorsed by members which consist of the Ministry of Communication Technology (MCT), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA), Internet Society (ISOC) Nigeria, Rita Talabi Foundation, Creative Technology for Development Initiative (CTDI) and Global Network for Cybersecurity (GNC).

Uduma also said that the two-day 2014 NIGF would host its youth workshop on day-1 with focus on “Internet Governance for Job Creation & Social Enterprise Development” to be presided over by Professor Cleopas Angaye, an Internet Security Consultant and former D-G of NITDA.

On the day-2, she explained it would centre on “Harnessing Multi-Stakeholders Framework for Internet Governance & Economic Growth” with discussions led by 2014 forum chairman, Mr. Austin Okere of Computer Warehouse Group Plc on June 10.

She noted that over the years, the Internet has affected the way we live and communicate with one another and it has been a huge contributor to economic development.

“It affects virtually all areas of life such as business, health, education and transport,” she declared.

Uduma further stated that the strategic importance of the forum is such that participants are drawn from all social and economic groups to have a say, through multi-stakeholders’ dialogue, in establishing local principles and protocols that would guide the governance of the Internet in order to facilitate economic growth in Nigeria.

Urging participants’ registration at NIGF website, she pointed out that NIGF 2014 is focused on engaging multi-stakeholder’s nature of the forum to harness and aggregate productive ideas, best practices and experiences towards facilitating an all inclusive framework for internet governance in Nigeria that will actively stimulate economic growth.

The Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) is a renewed collaborative effort of internet stakeholders in the country led by the Local Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group (LMAG) since 2012; to help provide a coordinated mechanism for domestic multi-stakeholders participations in the regional and global internet governance, and to help facilitate partnerships, coalitions and dialogues that redefine Nigeria position at regional and global IGF meetings.
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