Nigeria, Ghana to Partner on Mutual ICT Programmes

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria’s Information and Technology (IT) clearing house and its Ghanaian counterpart, the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), have agreed to collaborate on common grounds as it affects both countries’ IT sector.

A statement signed by Mrs. Hadiza Umar, on behalf of the acting DG of NITDA, Mr. Vincent Olatunji, which was made available to media in Abuja, said the two agencies met over the weekend in Accra, Ghana to assess mutual areas of interest and how they can leverage on ICT to better improve the economic potentials of these countries.

Olatunji said both countries are to work on agreeable terms to define the nature and scope of the partnership to cover among others: human capital development, ICT startups and entrepreneurship schemes, local content, cyber security and smart city.

He said: “The areas of cooperation will also cover mutual support for each countries IT related events or such public sector led IT events designed to draw investments and developments to the two countries.

“The need for us as neighbours and as developing countries to identify common goals and common strategies’ within the sub-region to approach issues as relating to IT is both important and desirous now so as to raise the economic fortunes of our two countries.”

The statement quoted the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of NITA, Mr. George Atta-Boatang, as saying: “We welcome a partnership with Nigeria and see it as exigent to actualising our own mandate as a counterpart IT agency in Ghana. We consider partnership as an essential element of growth and look to maximising this partnership.

According to Atta-Boatang, NITA was established in 2008 as an IT projects-based public service institution and has so far championed internet diffusion in Ghana as well as provide the framework for data warehousing for both public and private institutions in Ghana.

The CEO said NITA is currently working to commission the 10, 000 seats BPO/Outsourcing centre in Accra, touted to be the largest in West Africa as Ghana prepares to be a major hub for BPO/Outsourcing in West Africa.

While admitting that NITA is relatively young compared to the NITDA, he said NITA will draw on some inspiring input

from the NITDA in marshalling its own current structure as a policy driven IT agency from its original orientation as a project driven one. Both establishments further considered a working relationship as a partnership that should thicken and inspire IT-led collaborations with other West African countries within the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “We share a common IT destiny,” said the NITDA’s boss while elaborating on NITDA’s effort to strengthen the value of IT within Nigeria’s public and private organisations.

“The NITDA has invested massively in human capital in Nigeria to build an army of IT savvies. In addition to expanding the boundaries of internet usage across countries.