NITDA hosts stakeholders to maiden hangout
By Ibiyemi Mathew
The National Information technology development agency (NITDA) has hosted the first of its kind digital hangout.
The hangout which went live yesterday on Microsoft team had in attendance Stakeholder’s from the public and private space from the ICT sector.
The hybrid hangout is an initiative of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) which is for the Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DTTWG) members and the tech ecosystem brought together key players in the industry.
In attendance also was the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, Director of the Korea International Corporation Agency, Mr. Woochang Chang, Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Funke Opeke, the Managing Director, NigComSat, Dr. Abimbola Alele and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, Mr. Bitrus Nabasu who represented the Minister, Prof Isa Pantami.
In his opening address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, Mr. Bitrus Nabasu who represented the minister of communications and Digital economy noted that the hangout would help to build the digital transformation of the country taking place through the support of the key stakeholders.
The Minister stated that the success of the digital transformation of Nigeria cannot be done alone by those in government stressing that the government needs the support of those in the ecosystem and that the digital hangout would be a continuous platform of engagement for the stakeholders of the technology ecosystem players.
“We need the involvement of the technology ecosystem to co-create ideas and innovate. On this note, I called for the establishment of a digitization hangout as a platform for continuous engagement between DTTWGs and the technology ecosystem players.
“Digital Transformation calls for a rethink in how public institutions do business and deliver public value and experience to customers. Public institutions should be looking for innovative ways to leverage digital to deliver value better than ever before. Doing this requires both the Government and the private sector capabilities to create and deliver the expected value to citizens”, the Minister said.
Pantami said, “I implore you to take advantage of this opportunity, examine all our initiatives, share your experiences, and let us co-create ideas to bring public sector digitization and the digital economy to the next level. It is my singular honour and pleasure to declare the 2021 digitization hangout open. I call on the Chairmen of DTTWGs to take their role seriously, work closely with NITDA and your CEOs to ensure we effectively digitize our Government.”
In his welcome address, the Director General of NITDA, Mr. kachifu Abdullahi, said: “we have achieved another milestone by creating a platform for bringing together the DT-TWG members and the key players in the technology industry.”
He added: “We hope this engagement will foster cooperation between the DTTWGs and technology industry players and provide a platform where experiences, achievements, and challenges will be shared. We are optimistic that this will also be a platform for constructive stakeholders’ inputs and buy-in and ultimately a medium for rights decisions and devising feasible strategies towards improving digital transformation maturity in the public sector.”
While appreciating the Minister for his support, he said, “it is my sincere belief that our ability to co-create effectively will enable market-creating innovations that will drastically change the landscape of Government Digital Service (GDS) in Nigeria for the benefit of all.”
