The 2012 edition of e-Nigeria, an annual event connecting stakeholders in the Nigerian IT sector, will this year have the nation’s minister in charge of the communications technology ministry Omobola Johnson and Oby Ezekwesili, a former vice president of the World Bank, as lead discussants.
The Nigerian Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) saidthe two will lead discussions at this year’s e-Nigeria conference that creates a single platform where the course for Nigeria’s technology industry would be charted.
The ex-VP for Africa at the World Bank is expected to apply her expertise in driving the focus of discussion at the conference while the federal minister will further sell her vision of a robust ICT sector for Nigeria to the stakeholders who will be in attendance.
Other discussants announced include the director general of NITDA Prof. Cleopas Angaye, whose expertise and in-depth knowledge is expected to be instrumental in providing added insight into discussions.
The conference will focus on examining and proffering appropriate strategies that would enhance Nigerian content in IT products and services in order to increase the contribution of the ICT sector to GDP.
The theme for this year’s conference, ‘Local Content in IT Development in Nigeria’, was carefully chosen to make the event part of the transformation agenda of the incumbent administration, and to discourage capital flight, which is now synonymous with importation of IT knowledge, products and services, NITDA said.
“It is believed that the conference will have a positive impact on our GDP growth by creating jobs for our teeming unemployed youths in the country and transform our nation to regional hub for IT products and services,” Prof. Angaye said.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan will open the conference scheduled for Oct 30 to Nov 1, 2012 in the nation’s capital Abuja.
