The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has called for a technology-driven electoral process in 2019.
\nThe NCS President, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu made the call at a media briefing in Lagos.
\nAccording to him, although deployment of technology for electronic voting cannot work 100 per cent, the country should start from somewhere.
\n\u201cAs an advocacy group, we urge government on adoption of technology in the electoral process; there must be political will.
\n\u201cThis is to ensure that in 2019, the Independent National Electronic Commission (INEC) will deploy technology to drive electoral process,\u201d he said.
\nAderounmu said that adopting technology and utilising it to build an inclusive society and achieve sustainable development would be the thrust of the society\u2019s 27th national conference.
\nHe said that the conference would hold from July 17 to July 19 in Ibadan with the theme: \u201cDigital Inclusion: Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies\u201d.
\nAccording to him, NCS, the umbrella body of all information technology professionals in Nigeria, organises annual conferences to address challenges and highlight opportunities related to building a digital, prosperous and inclusive Nigeria.
\n\u201cNCS has assembled leading researchers, entrepreneurs, educators, industry experts, thought leaders, international scholars and subject-matter experts as speakers and resource persons to share knowledge and experience on the theme and sub-themes.
\n\u201cThe conference will focus on important issues related to the theme and subthemes such as poverty eradication and job creation in a rural economy, internet and broadband for all, e-agriculture, e-health and e-education,\u201d he said.
\nHe listed other sub-themes to include software and local content, gender equality and the empowerment of women, tech startup, SME and youth entrepreneurship, e-voting and election management.
\nHe said that the strategic and transformation role of information technology in the economy and society was well-recognised.
\n\u201cThe opportunities technology create for employment generation, efficient and accountable governance, wealth-creation and social development, cannot be underestimated.
\n\u201cNCS cautions that, as the country invests in technology, it must not widen existing divides in society. The sustainability of our efforts requires inclusion.
\n\u201cThe excluded, the vulnerable, the rural populace, all need to be part of the digital revolution for Nigeria to fulfil its immense potential.
\n\u201cCan we really have e-government if the majority of citizens lack access to digital infrastructure, and fall short in terms of required digital skills?\u201d Aderounmu asked.
\nHe said that through the conference, the NCS would play a major role in setting national digital inclusion agenda.
\nAderounmu said that confetence would feature NCS President\u2019s Award for Distinguished Persons in Information Technology.
\nHe listed the dignitaries to be honoured to include Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe, Ms Funke Opeke, Chief Executive Officer of MainOne; and Mr Adedayo Arogundade; Managing Director, Sidmach Technologies Nig. Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has called for a technology-driven electoral process in 2019. The NCS President, Prof. Adesola Aderounmu made the call at a media briefing in Lagos. According to him, although deployment of technology for electronic voting cannot work 100 per cent, the country should start from somewhere. \u201cAs an advocacy group, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":180046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-icttelecom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/180046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}