NCCF-ICT BOSS URGES ICT PRACTITIONERS IN NIGERIA TO TAP INTO OIL AND GAS BUSINESS

The Nigeria Oil and Gas industry Content Development Act bill was passed by the House of Representatives on March 3, 2010, also passed by the Senate on March 10, 2010 and finally signed into law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 29th of March 2010. The Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, according to section 12, precisely reads “that Nigerians are to be given first consideration for the provision of goods and services in the sector”.

The current executive Chairman of the Nigeria Content Consultative Forum in Information Communication Technology (NCCF-ICT) Mr. Aderemi Atanda made this known to pressmen during their group’s sectoral meeting recently held in Lagos.

According to Mr. Atanda, “the focal areas of the NCCF-ICT includes: IT/ICT human capacity building/continuous manpower development; promotion of the acceptance and use of locally developed hardware and software in the oil and gas industry; terms/requirements for accessing ICT related contracts in the industry; research and development on the ICT goods and services needed in the industry and positioning local players to provide the identified needs which will result in carrying out survey to establish a comprehensive database of existing local ICT capabilities and training needed to enhance these capabilities.

Part of what the body deliberated at her July sectoral working meeting are: proposed plan to commission a research that examines the consumption of ICT contracts and projects awarded by Nigerian to determine the percentage of ICT contracts awarded to Nigerian IT firms in the past five years; proposed one day awareness and sensitization event on the local content law and ways it could positively affect the lives of local IT practitioners; compliance and monitoring of the implementation of NOGICD Act for the benefit of local IT practitioners; capacity building and training through collaborations and liaison with the education and training sectoral working group on core IT domain and ICT training in Oil and Gas sector and collaboration with other sectoral working groups to achieve NCCF-ICT mandate.

As part of the efforts of the body to sensitize and create awareness on how the local content law could positively affect the lives of local ICT practitioners in the country, a five man committee was constituted abd saddled with the task to develop a framework, tentative plan, budget and plan for the execution of the one day advocacy event. The committee members are: Mr. Biyi Oladipo (Chairman), Mr. Awonuga Gbolahan (Member), Mrs. Odeneye Olamide (Member), Mrs. Olatunji Abibat (Member) and Mr. Wole Adedoyin (Member).
Also at the meeting were representatives of the NCDMB, Mr. Obinna Osuji and Mr. Jerry Atabong.