NITDA Act: American Business Council Debunks Online Reports, Lauds Pantami’s Strides

NITDA Act: American Business Council Debunks Online Report, Lauds Pantami’s Strides

The American Business Council (ABC) says it had no discussion with the public or any section of the media on the NITDA Act.

It stated this while repudiating the stories on some online media, titled, “Parameters Not Defined: American Business Council Raises Council Over Isa Pantami’s ICT-Killer Bill’.

The Council also clarified the ‘authorized action by these media’ in a letter forwarded to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

The letter, dated 18 August 2021, which is sighted by PRNigeria, was signed by the Council’s Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Margaret Olele.

“The reports by these media platforms do not conform with tenets of the American Business Council nor did we interact with them on this matter,” the letter partly reads.

Recalled that some online had both reported that the American Business Council raised concerns over the proposed National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) bill, yet to be passed into law.

According to one of the online media, the Council noted that there are ambiguous sections of the bill that should rather be properly spelt out so operators in the Information Communication and Technology Industry could fully understand what implications this might have for their businesses.

The US Business Council also raised concerns over the unclear meaning of “digital services, products and platforms, administrative sanctions” as stated in the bill, the report further said.

“It also pointed out that for foreign stakeholders, it is unclear whether the turn over the threshold which will make an entity subject to an assessment of levy is the total annual turnover of the entity, the annual turnover derived from its operations in Nigeria, or both.

“The council also recommended that the bill should clearly spell out the enforcement mechanisms that can be adopted by the NITDA and FIRS to ensure payment of the levy by owners of the foreign digital platforms,” Sahara reporters added.

But Olele, in her letter to Pantami, thanked the Minister for the great work his Ministry is doing to improve the regulatory framework of the Communications sector.

“We are especially grateful for your support and proactive stance in addressing key issues that will impact the private sector and the growth of the digital economy in Nigeria,” he said.

PRNigeria gathered that the American Business Council yesterday, Friday, 3 September 2021, published another disclaimer to further disassociate itself from some of the fake reports on online media.

By PRNigeria