Local content matter for legislation – Shittu

The minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu has reiterated that the country needs to legislate on matters related to local content in ICT to leverage opportunities in the sector.

He made the remark during his speech at the National Information Technology Merit Award (NITMA) 2017 organised by the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) in Lagos.

Mr. Shittu said that it is high time the National Assembly urgently legislated on the policy to direct on local content and criminalise any act of sabotage associated with Local Content in ICT.

ALSO SEE: Fitch releases ratings on Sterling Bank, IBTC

He said the Ministry, through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is ready to boost local content in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in order to make it compete favourably in the global market.

He however, cautioned that indigenous manufacturers must up their game to ensure their products meet international standards.

He promised that the government will help address the issues that affect the sector such as poor quality control, pricing, and quality of service and support of the private sectors to build world class data centres to create more jobs in the country.

On NITMA, the Minister congratulated NCS and its members for organizing the ceremony, adding that they should not rest on their oars with regards advocating for professionalism and standardization in the industry.