By Angela Nkwocha
The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA has said that it is refocusing it’s efforts towards leveraging on the global ICT sector especially with the advent of the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Director General of the Agency, Mr Kashifu Abdullahi stated this while addressing participants on an online event on the National Outsourcing Startegy; a policy document to enhance government ICT policies for effectiveness.
He said the journey is to explore the future to identify potential scenarios and to make the steps that are needed to potentially shape it.
Mr Abdullahi said the in the last two months the 25 richest billionaires in the world garnered about 225 billion dollars due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the Draft National Outsourcing document was salient for in the present administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, Digitization of Governance and pulling one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty as well as Human Capital Development plan.
Mr Kashifu Abdullahi said the National Outsourcing Document would be implemented immediately after necessary amendments, inputs and recommendations from experts in the industry had been made.
“With the recent government initiative to make Nigeria a leading digital economy coupled with the government promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty NITDA under the supervision of Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has refocused its effort to implementation of the National Digital Economy Strategy.
“This resonate with what is happening globally. Digital economy was emerging before covid-19 and now the crisis has made it more profound.
“According to Forbes Magazine the world’s 25 richest Billionaires have gained nearly $255 billion USD in just two months. Almost all of them leverage on the power of digital platform to get the whopping amount. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the biggest gainer.
“He made almost 32.5Billion USD in two months under lockdown and he has moved from the 7th richest person in the world in early April to the fourth-richest person today”, he said.
The NITDA DG said Nigeria’s Digital Economy Strategy has 8 pillars, which Digital services is one of them.
Contributing the Deputy Director, E-governance Development and Regulations of NITDA, Mr Ben Ewah gave an overview of the National Outsourcing Document which he described as a veritable means to leverage on the bountiful gains of the global ICT sector.
Participants on the Online event had called for concerted efforts to ensure the document was realistic and viable as many such laudable national policies and ideas had been abandoned due to poor planning and non-continuity.
