Stakeholders Divided Over status of NITDA

It may take a presidential decision for a final resolution of the status of the government institution that would oversee information technology industry in Nigeria. This follows the inability of stakeholders to agree on a common status for the body.
Investigations by our correspondent showed that while a section is canvassing for an agency others are of the view that a commission should take charge of the sector.
Presently, the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency set up by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2001 to implement the National IT Policy oversees the industry.
But because it lacks required legal backing as it was not set up by any legislation, efforts have been on in some quarters to change its status when the legal backing eventually comes.
Those who support the elevation of the body to a commission include the President of the Nigerian IT Professionals in the Americas, Professor Many Aniebonam, Former Chairman of the Senate Committee of Science and Technology, Senator Iya Abubakar, and a host of others.
But some members of the Nigerian Computer Society and officials of NITDA still prefer the retention of the agency status as they feel this may be better for the country as it will be in time with what emists in related sectors.
The disagreement among stakeholders which has been for sometime resurfaced last Monday at the Senate’s public hearing on an IT bill sponsored by Senator Iya Abubakar.
In his bill, Abubakar called for the establishment of an IT commission, saying it was in line with what the government had done in the Telecoms and Broadcast sectors.
Director General of NITDA, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, however, argued for the retention of the body as it is presently constituted given that it had existed for upwards five years working towards fulfilling government objectives IT development.
But some groups, including the Joint Action Committee on IT Awareness and Development, are, however, indifferent to the nomenclature of the body to oversee IT in the country.
Their arguments are that government needed to move quickly and pass a bill for the development of the sector since IT was important to the over all development of the country.
But with the Senate currently considering two bills for the sector, one which focuses on establishment of NITDA and the other seeking a framework for the sector.