By Angeline Mgbele, Bureau Chief, North
In line with the Agency’s roadmap of forging strategic partnerships and collaboration to advance the Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has reiterated the need for collaboration that would bring about the best solutions from ideas, experiences, insights, and shared knowledge needed for the country’s development.
Mallam Abdullahi stated this while playing host to the participants of the 2024 Senior Executive Course 46 who were on a strategic tour to understudy the Agency’s operations on the advancement of Digital Economy in line with the present administration’s Agenda. The team was led by Brigadier General, Abdulrahman Idris.
Abdullahi noted that no organisation could achieve its goals and objectives in isolation, adding that, “We need to collaborate with other institutions to learn and share ideas that will impact on the lives of citizens, improving the living standards of individuals across the country.”
He highlighted that collaboration between NITDA and NIPSS will highlight the importance of leveraging technology and digital innovation to drive economic growth and create more job opportunities for citizens, attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
He said, “At NITDA, we started by re-imagining and reinventing our social contract with Nigerians and the ecosystem, which led to the change of the Agency’s mission and vision to improve service delivery and the swift growth of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. We need to ensure that our core values reflect our willingness to discharge our duties and we exist to serve Nigerians.”
Providing insights into NITDA’s strategic direction, Abdullahi mentioned the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024-2027) 2.0, structured around eight pillars which include Fostering Digital Literacy and Cultivating Talents, Building a Robust Technology Research Ecosystem, Strengthening Policy Implementation and Legal Frameworks, Promoting Inclusive Access to Digital Infrastructure and Services, Enhancing Cybersecurity and Digital Trust, Nurturing an Innovative and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Forging Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations, and Cultivating a Vibrant Organisational Culture with an Agile Workforce.
Earlier in his remarks, Brigadier-General Idris stated that NIPSS was established by Decree number 20 of 1979, now Cap N-51 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. He said the Institute was conceived as a high-level institution with the primary objectives of serving as the nation’s foremost policy think-tank to develop a crop of top-class technocrats of high intellectual capacity, who would conceptualise and anchor the implementation of innovative and dynamic policy initiatives and strategies that were critical for national development.
General Idris added that the institution since inception had graduated 45 courses which were supporting government institutions in the implementation of policies for national development.
He said, “The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has tasked the institutions with the mandate to address some issues of national interest around the digital economy sector and NITDA is one of the critical stakeholders in the sector and this has informed our visit’’.
