NITDA Boss Harps On Sustainable Investment In IT

Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has called on government to make sustainable investment in Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria.

Angaye, who made the call at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, said that aside the telecommunications sub-sector, all other sectors of the IT industry were grossly under-funded.

He urged the Federal Government to invest in IT in order to consolidate on the gains of past investments in the sector.

“IT has become a powerful tool for national development. It creates enormous opportunities for growth and poverty reduction.

“The availability of accurate information created and disseminated through IT has decisive impact on peoples’ lives and on the socio-economic development of a country as a whole,” the NITDA Director-General said.

Angaye said that a major challenge militating against the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Nigeria was the lack of adequate political will from decision-makers.

He appealed to the government to put in place necessary mechanisms to properly create ICT awareness among political leaders at all levels.

“ICT is knowledge-based, hence most policy-makers do not understand what it is all about,” he said.

Angaye noted that the unavailability of institutional framework at the rural level had slowed down the rate of progress in the few locations where the values of ICT were appreciated.

He said that the issue of power was also a major infrastructure defect.

“But this can be addressed if measures are adoptedto provide alternative sources of power in order to enhance the deployment of technologies,’’ the NITDA boss said.  

Angaye pointed out that Science and Technology was the necessary tool for the full realisation of the present administration’s seven-point agenda and Vision 20:2020.

“There is need for government to make consistent substantive investment in science and technology for Nigeria to be a key player and one of the leading economies in the world in the future,’’ he said.