ICT4D committee submits report to NITDA

Six years after its inauguration, the Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) committee by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has submitted its final report to the agency.

ITRealms Online recalls that the committee was set up by the erstwhile Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Turner T. Isoun in August 2003 to formulate the nation’s ICT4D document with a 12-man resource persons including the President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Charles Uwadia, Prof. Charles Akinyokun, Dr. John Dada, Mr. Bankole Olubamise, Mr Jide Awe, Dr (Mrs) Aisha Mamood, Mr. Hakeem Ajijola and Mr. Adeolu Odusote among others.

The project was sponsored by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) with Prof. Clement Dzidonu of Ghana supervising the work, while it was co-ordinated by Dr. Moses Ubaru, Director, Planning Research and Statistics, NITDA.

The committee, presided over by Dr. Armstrong Takang, worked through resource persons engaged by NITDA to produce the Nigerian ICT4D plan.

The purpose of the plan is to integrate ICT into national development with focus on the sectors and areas identified as requiring priority attention of ICT deployment in the document include agriculture, education, infrastructure, e-Government, national security and law enforcement, health, governance and legislature, IT popularization and awareness human resource development, research & development, private sector participation in the area of e-commerce, tourism and culture and transportation among others.

Speaking at the presentation of the report, Dr. Takang noted that the identified sectors were inline with the President Musa Yar Adua’s 7-Points agenda and Vision 2020.

According to him, the ICT4D document would serve as a road map on how the national Information Technology System would be upgraded and used in addressing several developmental issues.

Dr. Takang also commended NITDA for the initiative and the resource persons for their sacrifices and commitment towards the production of the final document, just as he implored NITDA to ensure a dedicated implementation of the outlined programmes.

Responding, the Director-General, NITDA, Prof. Cleopas Officer Angaye, who was represented by the Director, Finance and Administration, Mr. Garba Umar, expressed appreciation to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which sponsored the work and commended the resource persons for doing a good job.

He noted that the completion of the report was just the beginning as necessary strategies would be put in place to popularize and implement the plan, stressing that immediate action would be taken in presenting the document to the Minister of Science and Technology, Chief (Mrs) Grace Ekpiwhre, who would in-turn present it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for adoption.



ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D