By 
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has reiterated its commitment to cybersecurity awareness and promotion of emerging technologies.
Director General,NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said global trends in cybersecurity and digitisation of traditional processes through emerging technologies have made it imperative for the agency to strengthen its commitment.
RELATED: Pantami lauds NITDA, Cisco for supporting academic institutions to drive digital skills acquisition
“Every year, we deploy over 100 centres and we have larger centres in higher institutions which are called high information technology innovation hubs which were deployed for research and development purposes as well as to provide opportunities for students in higher institutions of learning to develop their skills,” said Abdullahi while receiving the Head of Computer Science and Information Systems Department of University of Limerick, Ireland, Professor Mike Hinchey at the NITDA’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
Abdullahi, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions Department, Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi, stated that the agency was saddled with the responsibility of driving IT development.
The NITDA’s responsibilities are IT development, regulation and advisory as its three core mandates; and its mandates include IT infrastructure development, capacity building and awareness creation, Abdullahi told Hinchey.
He added that the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) which initiated the development of the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) is a product of advisory service and a key policy document that is driving the ministry.
According to NITDA boss, cybersecurity and emerging technologies have remained critical pillars of SRAP. The NITDA has developed several initiatives and awareness campaigns to ensure the protection of citizenry data as well as create employability opportunities for Nigerians.
“I am very impressed with what I have seen today and I think Nigeria has a reputation in cybersecurity and emerging technologies”, noted Hichney after a tour of the agency’s Computer Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) unit as well as the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR).
