The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) are set to partner on digital transformation to drive the achievement of a digital economy.
The NITDA director-general, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi made this known when he received the NCAA director-general, Captain Musa Nuhu, who led his technical team on a courtesy visit to the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
The NITDA boss who identified digital transformation as one of the seven strategic pillars of the agency’s Strategic RoadMap and Action Plan (SRAP 2021-2024) and a pivotal aspect to transformational initiatives, said it formed a baseline for the alliance between both agencies.
Abdullahi said digital transformation was being engaged using two different fundamentals, namely digitization and digitalization. While digitization is the mechanism employed by digital technology to enhance effective processing of product and service delivery, digitalization on the other hand is adaptation of system, processes, using digital technology as a source of inspiration to change operational structure and procedure.
The NITDA helmsman expatiated on the need to conform to the best global practices, pointing out that “technology is an enabler, therefore there is need to use technology to increase productivity.”
He explained that NITDA’s interface with NCAA was aimed at driving both the internal and external processes of the latter as the apex regulatory body for data regulations and development in Nigeria.
He said NITDA had been engaging NCAA in the areas of IT project clearance as well as providing advisory services to the agency in recent past, adding in line with keeping up with global trends, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami enabled the issuance of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) Policy in January 2019 when he was the DG of NITDA.
He said, this provided opportunity for the protection of the right to privacy, creating the right environment for digital transactions, job creation and improving information management practices in the country, adding the IT sector is data driven and to achieve this, capacity building is very essential.
’’At NITDA our belief is that we cannot succeed in isolation, that’s why we have rebranded and changed our core values, mission and vision, our core values are people first, we exist to serve people; professionalism, whatever we do is according to best practices, and innovation, we don’t believe in conventional methods, we try to bring something new to our sector,’’ he said.
The new drive for the agency, according to Abdullahi, is to engage all MDAs of government to ensure that they have necessary policy, processes, and infrastructure in place to ensure timely service delivery at reduced cost.
’’We are setting up training sessions, first with CEO/MDs of MDAs to enlighten them on digital transformation processes. Thereafter, staff from different departments and units, procurement, planning, administration, human resource, etc, would be drafted into the Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DTTWG),’’ he said.
The group, he said, would work on developing policies that align basically with their individual agencies/sector.
He also suggested that each MDAs should have their individual data protection officers (DPOs) who would report directly to the director-general.
The DG, NITDA finally assured the NCAA DG that alliance could be formed on the platform of DTTWG to develop appropriate tool kit and enabling policy that would focus on NCAA vision and mission.
Earlier, Nuhu disclosed that the motive of the courtesy visit was to strengthen their existing relationship and create synergy as all government agencies are parts of a whole. “It makes life and work easier and efficient,’’ he said.
He lauded all past NITDA’s intervention to his organization and said he looked forward to more collaboration on all possible areas that the two government bodies could foster alliance.
