Tejan Kabbah for ‘09 Telecom fiesta

Former President of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah has been billed to lead dignitaries to the 2009 edition of a three-day Nigerian Telecom fiesta to be held in Lagos, beginning today.

Secretary General of the organizing committee, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, said Nigerian Telecom Fiesta is a blend of activities that comprise the Nigerian Telecom Development Lecture (NITDEL), Nigerian Telecom IT Exhibition (NITTEX), Nigerian Telecom Awards, and Miss Telecom Nigerian Beauty Pageant.

He also said that other dignitaries expected to join Alhaji Kabbah at the occasion include the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) and his counterpart in Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko as well as the former Head of States, General Mohammadu Buhari.

Additionally, he said, the Esama of Benin, Sir Gabriel Igbinedion, Igwe Alfred Achebe, Obi of Onitsha, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, among others.

Ajiboye equally said that the event put together by Logical Communications Limited and TimeBridge Limited, has been scheduled to hold at Eko Le Meridien, on August 5 with the Nigerian Telecom & IT Exhibition, a world class expo strongly supported and facilitated by National information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which holds alongside an industry lecture focused on global trends in IT regulation.

He said, NITDEL, for instance, is a lecture with the objective of a contributive discourse on the state of our nation especially on the Nigerian operational environment, which habours business and politics whereby business is done without corruption, and politics without bitterness, noting that telecom has contributed so much into the national Gross Domestic Product, and has been scheduled to hold on Friday August 7, at Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island.

This year’s lecture, Ajiboye said, has speakers drawn from the two sectors of politics and security with the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) speaking on “E-Governance, Verile Streategy to Curb in Nigeria.”

As said by him, the former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, would be delivering a paper on “Modern Democracy, an Emerging Political Reality in Nigeria”, while “Evolution of a secured Nigeria; principles and practicalities,” would be delivered by Marvel Akpoyibo Commissioner of Police, Lagos State.

Former Ambassador of Nigeria to South Africa, Alhaji Shehu Malami would chair the lecture while Chief Bisi Akande, Chairman of the Action Congress, Gamaliel Onosode, Chairman, Zain Nigeria, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, President ALTON, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, President, ATCON, Engr. Lanre Ajayi, president, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), among other dignitaries and industry chieftains.

He explained that the Nigerian Telecom Awards which is on its fifth edition, comes up on Saturday August 8, 2009, with the President of Sierra–Leone, Alhaji Kabbah, presiding at this year’s awards.

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