Business
NITDA Boss Harps On Enhanced Indigenous Software
The Director-General, Na
tional Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),Prof. Cleopas Angaye, says enhancing and marketing indigenous software as an internationally acceptable brand is of utmost importance to Federal Government’s transformation agenda.
Angaye said this last Thursday in Abuja when he received the final draft of the National Software Policy from the National Software Policy Committee (NSPC).
He said the software industry was of utmost importance in the competitiveness for economies across the globe.
Angaye explained that the country had witnessed tremendous growth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in the last decade.
He said the situation had led to the increase in Internet penetration in the country from 200,000 users in 1999 to the current over four million users.
Angaye added that the growth and deployment of ICT in almost all sectors of the economy had led to considerable investment in the software both in the public and private sectors.
He explained that in recognition of the importance of software to economic development, the agency had made efforts at developing the ICT sub-sector.
Angaye said the efforts included the inauguration of the National Software Task Force and the National IT Policy.
“NITDA will continue to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders and the international community in order to ensure appropriate positioning of the country amongst the comity of nations in the current digital age,’’ he said.
The committee chairman, Prof. Oluwole Akinyokun, said that software was a tool for productivity and efficiency capable of leading to better transparency and accountability.
“This means government and the art of governance can be made highly effective, citizen-friendly and contributing to the standard of living of the people,’’ Akinyokun said.
He noted that the document received contributions from stakeholders in the software and ICT development from public and private sectors both within and outside the country.
Akinyokun expressed optimism that the draft policy, if adopted, would help to diversify the nation’s source of revenue and prevent capital flight from the country.
The committee, inaugurated on December 6, 2010, was saddled with the responsibility of drafting a national software policy for the country.