Approve National Software Policy, NCS pleads with government

The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) on Monday pleaded with the Federal Government to approve the pending National Software Policy (NSP).

The advice is contained in a statement issued in Lagos and signed by Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, the president of the society.

According to the statement, the NSP blue print is aimed at providing a strategic roadmap to make the country competitive in the area of software engineering.

It added that it would assist the country to have a digital knowledge development and implement e-government strategies as an imperative for corruption-free, equitable, productive and knowledge-based society.

The statement said that the society was committed to partnering with government to build an inclusive, prosperous and digitally enabled nation.

It recommended that government should give the use of registered local Information Technology (IT) professional and companies the priority in executing IT jobs.

“There should be a deliberate focus on youth innovation to generate massive employment for millions of youths through riding on the start-up boom in the country,’’ it said.

The statement noted that the government ought to mandate NCS in collaboration with National Information Technology Development Agency to supervise all IT projects.

“There should be capacity building in cyber security, most especially within the security agencies and in the nations educational system.

“National policies could only make the desired impacts and make the country great if implemented by qualified persons,’’ the statement said.