The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, says it has commenced the process of repealing its enabling Act which came into being in 2007, in order to align with the Federal Government’s quest for digital economy transformation.
The agency, which made the disclosure in a statement signed on Monday by its Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Hadiza Umar, added that the repealing became necessary for many reasons.
According to the statement, the reasons included the need to address contemporary digital issues, revamp Nigeria’s economy, build trust and protect the rights and interests of players in the ecosystem.
The statement added that the needs were addressed by the launch of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, NDEPS, which effectively replaced the Nigerian National IT Policy, 2000.
The agency recalled that the vision of the National IT Policy was to make Nigeria an IT capable country by 2005, stressing that at the moment had gone beyond the vision of using IT and is now aiming to become the digital economy capital of Africa.
“Furthermore, since the enactment of the NITDA Act 2007, NITDA has operated as the catalytic Government Agency for developing and regulating the Information Technology sector.
“However, in light of recent advancements in Information Technology and the shift in the global economy paradigm, the NDEPS was envisioned to “transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy, providing quality life and digital economies for all”.
“This current reality has necessitated the reimagination for the establishment of NITDA. It is a known fact that digital technologies have created new forms of economic activities that have been beneficial to the global economy.
“However, these digital technologies comes with their promises and perils such as cybercrimes, privacy invasion and other social problems.
“This necessitates the need to proactively manage their adoption through the development of a stakeholder-led robust regulatory architecture to enable Nigeria to maximise the benefits of such technologies and mitigate the negative consequences,” the statement noted.
The Agency added that its current establishment law is outdated and cannot meet the needs and requirements for supporting a digital economy as well as effectively protect the rights and interests of stakeholders in the digital world.
“Therefore, the need for a more agile and practical approach to regulations, standards-setting, and guidelines development for the country, with a focus on digital and emerging technologies, cannot be overemphasised,” the statement noted.
Highlighting on some of the areas in need of repealing in the 2007 Act, the statement said the new framework would be created for promoting the startup ecosystem; promoting indigenous products and services through standardisation;
“Collaborating with the requisite public and private sector partners to carry out activities that will assist in electronic waste disposal;
Others include: fostering collaboration to facilitate the implementation of robust cybersecurity measures aimed at building trust in Nigeria’s digital economy;facilitating capacity building through the digital literacy and skills initiative;
“Entrenching stakeholder participation in developing regulations through the rule-making process; and promoting the safe use of digital technologies, including social media, for the attainment of national objectives.”
The agency, therefore, assured that it would leverage the proposed NITDAs Bill to extensively engage with crucial IT stakeholders and protect its stakeholders’ interests in the best possible way.
“However, this can only be achieved through more excellent connectivity and collaboration by registration and licensing processes,” the statement added.
