By Emma Okonji
Stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry have again opposed to the planned amendment of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Bill, which seeks to enact an Act that will empower NITDA to provide for the administration, implementation and regulation of Information Technology Systems and Practice in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), at the weekend, held a virtual press conference, where it joined other industry stakeholders to oppose the bill, insisting that the bill does not represent the national interest of the country, since it neglects the input of industry stakeholders.
NCS President, Prof. Adesina Sodiya who addressed NCS council members and the media on the NITDA’s bill, said NITDA was established as Information Technology (IT) Development Agency for the implementation of IT policies in the country and not as a regulator, as contained in the bill.
According to Sodiya, “NITDA was established as an IT Development Agency for the implementation of IT policies in the country. Industry stakeholders were not carried along in the formulation of the NITDA bill and the bill does not reflect the position of industry stakeholders because our views were not represented in the bill. We have taken a closer look at the bill and discovered that it is not good for the development of Information Technology in Nigeria.
“We have approached NITDA’s management and told them of the implication of the bill, but we have since realised that the bill is being pushed by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantam, in collaboration with NITDA, to the detriment of industry stakeholders and the IT industry.”