NITDA leads stakeholders to standardize made-in-Nigeria

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has finalised plans to host a two-day stakeholder workshop on standardisation of Made-in-Nigeria IT products.

NITDA is a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Communications Technology.

Director, Standards and Regulation, NITDA, Mr. Inye Kemabonta, while confirming this to ITRealms Online, said the purpose is to fine-tune the draft standards and guidelines for made-in-Nigeria IT hardware products in the country.

He also said the workshop scheduled for May 15 and 16, 2012 at the West Town hotel Ikeja, Lagos, would serve as a retreat and coordinated on the platform of the National Technical Committee (NTC) on IT Standards.

The NTC, he noted was established by NITDA as a specialized organ for IT standards development in the country.
Accordingly he pointed out that the Minister for Communications Technology had last November inaugurated the Committee.

NTC further said has prescribed minimum standards for Nigerian IT products to include that made-in-Nigeria IT products meet global standards.

Additionally, he revealed that the aim is to ensure Nigerians have no more excuse not to patronize made-in Nigeria, whereas consolidating on NITDA campaign for Nigerians to buy made-in-Nigeria products in IT.

As well, he said it would provide the enabling framework for the development of the indigenous IT sector.


He said, the Director-General of NITDA, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, is expected to use the occasion of the workshop to remind government MDAs that the Federal Government mandatory policy requires the public sector to procure low end Nigerian IT products is still in force.

Emphasising that the agency has created an Online Public Complaints Platform to track any disregard for the policy and to monitor compliance to minimum standards by product manufacturers in accordance with section 6 of the NITDA Act of 2007.

Remmy Nweke

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