FG to formulate new ICT policy

A new all encompassing Information and Communications Technology policy is being developed the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has said.Johnson, who said this at the inauguration of the National Technical Committee on Standards in Information Technology in Abuja on Monday, also disclosed that technology incubation centres would be established across the country in 2012.The minister lamented that the absence of standards in the Nigerian ICT industry had made the country a dumping ground for substandard products.She said, We have made substantial progress in the harmonisation of all policies in the ICT spectrum into one national ICT policy from where other sub-policies will take their bearing. The draft policy recognises the importance of standards and places a premium on their development and maintenance in the IT subsector.The absence of Nigerian standards, or indeed, the non-domestication of international standards in IT, has made our market a dumping ground for substandard products. This has to stop but the responsibility is ours.She added, Unfortunately also, our own indigenous and locally manufactured products, including software applications, can hardly be exported to markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia because many of them are not certified in accordance with international standards.We need to begin now to make a conscious and spirited effort to reposition the country as a hub for software applications and IT-enabled services. This underscores the urgent need for a rigorous standardising process for Nigerian products and services.Johnson said standards were extremely important if Nigeria must be part of the global economy and if indigenous companies must be competitive on the global scene.According to her, the nation needs to take advantage of its huge population in order to dominate the market in the West African sub region.Speaking at the event, the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Prof. Cleopas Angaye, said standards were important in order to protect the nations economy and to make products that were globally acceptable.
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