Peace Foundation Commends NITDA for Championing Digital Literacy in Nigeria

Peace Foundation Commends NITDA for Championing Digital Literacy in Nigeria

The Peace House Charity Foundation, Yola, Adamawa State has Commended
the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), for championing the digital literacy and skill acquisition in Nigeria through interventions in the areas of ICT deployments.

Executive Director of the Foundation based in Yola Adamawa State, Mr Mohammad Bello, made the commendation when he led a delegation to NITDA Headquarters in Abuja.

Bello said that the organisation was at NITDA to seek for ICT intervention and to commend its effort in promoting ICT knowledge across the nation.

He stated that the organisation supports education for the orphans and the less privileged, promote health care delivery especially among women and children, provide sensitisation workshop for parents (mothers) on parenting and matrimonial home, promote unity and encourage self-reliance among the populace.

In his remarks, the Director General of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa said that one of the mandates of NITDA is the deployment of ICT infrastructure towards the implementation of the Digital Economy strategy.

Representated by Director eGovernment Development and Regulation, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, the Director General noted that NITDA, at the moment, is looking for organisations to partner with to sustain Digital Capacity Training Centres deployed across the country.

He commended the effort of the organisation in assisting orphans with not only providing basic education but also the provision of skills, mentorship and moral upbringing.

Meanwhile, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa has disclosed the motive behind the issuance of Nigerian Data Protection Regulations (NDPR) by the Agency.

He said issuance of NDPR was to safeguard the right of natural persons to data privacy, foster safe conduct for transactions involving the exchange of personal data, and enable Nigerian businesses to be globally-compliant and competitive, while also creating jobs for citizens.

The NITDA Boss made this known while delivering the keynote address at the 6th Annual Conference of the Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria, (IIAN) with the theme: “Agility and Resilience”.

The conference was aimed at preparing participants across Internal Audits, Internal Controls, risk management, revenue and Government assurance and other business professionals to learn how to leverage on new technologies and procedures towards actualisation of the organisation’s goals and objectives.

The NITDA DG, who was represented Director e-Government Development and Regulations, Dr Vincent Olatunji, stated that since inception of the Agency in 2001, it has been playing a catalytic roles to spur the infusion of technology into nation’s work processes,

He noted that the Agency plays “critical roles in capacity development, provision of working tools for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). NITDA also has an existing arrangement with the office of the Auditor General of the Federation to aid the office in the discharge of its activities.”

Mallam Abdullahi further said, “The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) was issued on 25th January, 2020 by my predecessor, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. As part of his think-tank then, our thinking was that Nigeria needed to quickly provide a regulatory framework for the processing of personal data.

“This was even more pertinent in consideration of the global implications of non-performance. Businesses where losing bids because investors felt there was no data privacy regime in Nigeria. The Agency’s implementation of the NDPR has been innovative and impact oriented. For the first time in data protection implementation, auditors became recognised as Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCO).”

Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, New Capital Cooperatives Society, Mr. Benedict Anyalenka, while commending the organisers of the conference, maintained that data privacy and protection should be a requisite skill needed for development of the Information Technology Sector, as it would create platform for protection of information against unauthorized usage.

Anyalenka, however, called for proper awareness on the importance of data privacy among organisations and stakeholders across the country to safeguard citizens’ data.

By PRNigeria