NITDA, Stakeholders Bicker Over ‘Secret’ Repeal Of 2007 Act

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)
and stakeholders in the information communication technology (ICT)
sector on Monday bickered over an attempt by the management of the
agency to secretly repeal the enabling law of the agency called
NITDA Act 2007.

While NITDA said in a statement, that as an accountable agency,
the process of the repeal will be transparent and subjected to
comprehensive stakeholder engagement, sources close to the agency
accused its top management of concealing the draft document from
them.

“I am shocked about the whole thing. I am a member of NITDA
board, yet I have not seen the copy of the proposed amendment. I
feel strongly that as a board member, I should authoritatively be
able to speak about some of the key provisions of the proposed
amendment. The way the whole is being run is very surprising.
Public office is temporary; the current management will go and be
succeeded by another,” the source lamented.

Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NITDA, Mrs
Hadiza Umar, yesterday explained in a statement, that the repeal of
the obnoxious act was to ensure that Nigeria benefitted maximally
from the global digital economy. It said it was therefore drawing
the attention of IT sector stakeholders and the public on the
commencement of the process of repealing and re-enacting the NITDA
Act, 2007.

She said: “The agency’s establishment law is outdated. It 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.”

She explained that the need to repeal the existing Act became
necessary with the launch of the National Digital Economy Policy
and Strategy (NDEPS), which effectively replaced the Nigerian
National IT Policy, 2000.

“You may recall that the vision of the National IT Policy was to
make Nigeria an IT capable country by 2005. We can all attest that
Nigeria has gone beyond the vision of using IT but aiming to become
the digital economy capital of Africa,’’ she added.

“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 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 come 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,” Mrs
Umar said, adding that 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 over-emphasised, necessitated the repeal of
the law.

According to her, the review of the NITDA Act 2007 aims to
address contemporary digital issues, revamp Nigeria’s economy,
build trust and protect the rights and interests of players in the
ecosystem, stressing that it would serve as an enabler for the
growth and development of Nigeria’s digital economy.

“Some of the highlights of the repeal include the following,
amongst others, creating a framework 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; 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 statement said.

She said the IT sector and general public will attest to the
fact that NITDA has recorded unprecedented achievements in the past
few years despite the limitations of the current establishment law.
Some of these include: facilitating the substantial contribution of
the ICT sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
contributing 17.92 per cent in the second quarter of 2021,
catalysing job creation and igniting innovative activities in the
tech ecosystem; the implementation of the IT Project Clearance
initiative that supported the Federal Government’s fight against
corruption. This has resulted in over N22.45 billion saving and has
significantly increased local content consumption by over 300 per
cent in four years.

“NITDA registered 1573 indigenous companies to enforce local
content through IT Clearance; the introduction and implementation
of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), subsidiary
legislation enshrined to ensure data protection and privacy of
Nigerian citizens. The NDPR is the first of its kind in Africa,
serving as a source of reference for other African countries. It
also facilitated the creation of a new industry valued at around
N3.4 billion, stimulated new business models, and empowered
thousands of Nigerians through capacity building and skills
development. It also facilitated the creation of over 2,818 new
jobs in the industry; executing strategic global initiatives in the
innovation ecosystem such as MIT-Regional Entrepreneurship
Acceleration programme (MIT REAP), Bridge to MassChallenge and
Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Innovation to foster
the growth and success of startup enterprises, facilitate key
strategies to compliment innovation initiatives and accelerate
growth and job creation through Innovation Driven Enterprises,” the
statement said.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)
and stakeholders in the information communication technology (ICT)
sector on Monday bickered over an attempt by the management of the
agency to secretly repeal the enabling law of the agency called
NITDA Act 2007.

While NITDA said in a statement, that as an accountable agency,
the process of the repeal will be transparent and subjected to
comprehensive stakeholder engagement, sources close to the agency
accused its top management of concealing the draft document from
them.

“I am shocked about the whole thing. I am a member of NITDA
board, yet I have not seen the copy of the proposed amendment. I
feel strongly that as a board member, I should authoritatively be
able to speak about some of the key provisions of the proposed
amendment. The way the whole is being run is very surprising.
Public office is temporary; the current management will go and be
succeeded by another,” the source lamented.

Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NITDA, Mrs
Hadiza Umar, yesterday explained in a statement, that the repeal of
the obnoxious act was to ensure that Nigeria benefitted maximally
from the global digital economy. It said it was therefore drawing
the attention of IT sector stakeholders and the public on the
commencement of the process of repealing and re-enacting the NITDA
Act, 2007.

She said: “The agency’s establishment law is outdated. It 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.”

She explained that the need to repeal the existing Act became
necessary with the launch of the National Digital Economy Policy
and Strategy (NDEPS), which effectively replaced the Nigerian
National IT Policy, 2000.

“You may recall that the vision of the National IT Policy was to
make Nigeria an IT capable country by 2005. We can all attest that
Nigeria has gone beyond the vision of using IT but aiming to become
the digital economy capital of Africa,’’ she added.

“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 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 come 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,” Mrs
Umar said, adding that 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 over-emphasised, necessitated the repeal of
the law.

According to her, the review of the NITDA Act 2007 aims to
address contemporary digital issues, revamp Nigeria’s economy,
build trust and protect the rights and interests of players in the
ecosystem, stressing that it would serve as an enabler for the
growth and development of Nigeria’s digital economy.

“Some of the highlights of the repeal include the following,
amongst others, creating a framework 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; 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 statement said.

She said the IT sector and general public will attest to the
fact that NITDA has recorded unprecedented achievements in the past
few years despite the limitations of the current establishment law.
Some of these include: facilitating the substantial contribution of
the ICT sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
contributing 17.92 per cent in the second quarter of 2021,
catalysing job creation and igniting innovative activities in the
tech ecosystem; the implementation of the IT Project Clearance
initiative that supported the Federal Government’s fight against
corruption. This has resulted in over N22.45 billion saving and has
significantly increased local content consumption by over 300 per
cent in four years.

“NITDA registered 1573 indigenous companies to enforce local
content through IT Clearance; the introduction and implementation
of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), subsidiary
legislation enshrined to ensure data protection and privacy of
Nigerian citizens. The NDPR is the first of its kind in Africa,
serving as a source of reference for other African countries. It
also facilitated the creation of a new industry valued at around
N3.4 billion, stimulated new business models, and empowered
thousands of Nigerians through capacity building and skills
development. It also facilitated the creation of over 2,818 new
jobs in the industry; executing strategic global initiatives in the
innovation ecosystem such as MIT-Regional Entrepreneurship
Acceleration programme (MIT REAP), Bridge to MassChallenge and
Clayton Christensen’s Framework of Disruptive Innovation to foster
the growth and success of startup enterprises, facilitate key
strategies to compliment innovation initiatives and accelerate
growth and job creation through Innovation Driven Enterprises,” the
statement said.