News Highlights:
- NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman will lead stakeholders at the fourth edition of the NITRA ICT Growth Conference.
- The conference will feature multi-panel discussions aimed at accelerating AI growth in Nigeria’s ICT sector.
- The event will bring together prominent figures in the country’s ICT ecosystem.
As the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) prepares for the fourth edition of its stakeholder engagement event, the NITRA ICT GROWTH CONFERENCE, Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is set to lead stakeholders at this annual roundtable to examine the industry and strategize its growth path.
The event, which is the fourth in the series, and is scheduled to hold at the Citiheight Hotel, Ikeja Lagos on Thursday, August 8, 2024, has as its theme, “Impact of AI On National Development: Prospects, Policies, and Challenges in Nigeria.”
Maida will lead industry regulators and decision-makers in the various ICT subsectors, both in the private and public sectors, to discuss issues that will engender growth in the industry, and further position it as the nation’s economic driver.
NITRA Chairman, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi noted: “The theme of this year’s conference is aimed at complementing the various efforts by governments and private sector operators towards a digitalised Nigeria, especially in the area of Artificial Intelligence.
“The event aims to bring stakeholders in the ICT industry to discuss and find ways of accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) growth in the industry as a means of achieving laudable federal government-set targets and policies, including those recorded in policy documents by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the NCC and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
“These documents include NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024-2027)2.0; the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content (NPPIC); The National Telecommunications Policy; the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025; and National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).”
Under its “NITRA ICT Growth Conference”, which seeks to bring a multi-sectorial development agenda, NITRA is organising a multi-panel interactive conference that will look at the themes that include “Driving Sub-Sectoral Digital Growth With Artificial Intelligence,” and “Navigating the Dangers of AI In A Developing Economy: Role of Public, Private Stakeholders.”
Onwuegbuchi, while commending stakeholders for their support of the event and passion for the growth of technology in Nigeria, noted that the growth in the ICT industry will impact all other sectors of the economy positively.
“Specifically, the Forum will offer stakeholders the opportunity to reassess and reinvigorate some policies to make a maximum impact on the growth of AI in Nigeria. This is a growth conference, and stakeholders will be allowed to speak out on what the growth indices should be,” he said.
Expected to be at the event include the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani; Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida; the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Inuwa Kashifu Abdullahi; CEOs of government and private ICT companies; the Media including the full membership of NITRA and other stakeholders in the industry, including COOs, CIOs, CFOs, CROs and CCOs.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, industry associations including ALTON, ATCON, NiRA and others, will also make their inputs.
