Stakeholders in the ICT sector have expressed worry over moves by the Joint Senate and House Committee on Information Communications Technology to pass a controversial bill concerning the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
This follows the announcement on Thursday that a public hearing will be held on the bill today, December 23, 2022.
The stakeholders are alleging that fixing the public hearing on a day after both Chambers of the National Assembly proceeded on recess was indicative of desperation by the Committee to pass the controversial bill to favour NITDA and cause a disruption of the entire ICT sector in Nigeria.
The concerns: According to sources at the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies (ALTON), the attempt to pass the NITDA bill is tantamount to creating a behemoth that will erode the gains made by the industry.
- “The Committee did not formally invite key stakeholders for fears that the process to force down the bill on the industry may be scuttled, hence the Joint Committee capitalized on a hasty public notice issued hours before the public hearing.
- “In the undue haste to pass the flawed bill, the Committee had also thrown away all the submissions made by the members of the public and stakeholders during the first hearing where the bill was vehemently opposed,” one of the sources said.
The stakeholders also noted that rather than preserve and promote the mandate of NITDA as a statutory ICT development agency, the bill will be creating an agency with similar responsibilities as those of some of the existing regulatory agencies in Nigeria.
Earlier opposition: Before now, different stakeholders in the ICT sector opposed the bill. Specifically, the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) issued a statement after a stakeholders’ engagement forum organized by the NITDA to consider the bill, frowning at the provisions of the bill. Part of the statement said:
- “It was obvious from the comments, suggestions, and opinions expressed by all other stakeholders, at the meeting that the NITDA Bill 2021 arrogates powers of several other Regulatory Agencies to NITDA, which is an infringement on the statutory powers of other agencies of government like CPN, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Galaxy backbone, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the National Universities Commission (NUC), etc.”
CPN added that stakeholders who attended the meeting were unanimous in their opinions that several sections in the bill are a usurpation of the statutory powers of other Agencies of government that had been in existence before NITDA, and who have been performing their statutory roles.
- “For instanceSectionson 6, 13, 20, 21, and 22, which talked about NITDA’s power, licensing and authorizations, and offences and penalties, among others, raised some pertinent issues.
- “Section 6 arrogated new powers to NITDA, which included the ability to fix licensing and authorization charges, collect fees and penalties and issue contravention notices and non-compliance with the Act,” CPN stated in the statement signed by its Registrar/Secretary to Council, Muhammad Bello Aliyu.