Pantami Unveils NITDA’s New Digital Centre to Boost Anti-Cybercrime Fight
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has expressed firm belief that the new Digital Centre built by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will help boost the fight Federal Government (FG) has waged against cybercrime, in the country.
He stated this when he commissioned the state-of-the-art Centre at NITDA Headquarters in Abuja.
The Centre will house the integrated Computer Emergency Response and Readiness Centre, Digital Media Studio and Digital Conference Room, which were among the third in the series of projects commissioned under the Digital Economy agenda for a Digital Nigeria.
While also unveiling the new logo, mission, vision and core values of the Agency, Dr. Pantami, commended the management of NITDA for carrying on with the legacies and projects he initiated when he held sway as the Director General of the Agency.
The Minister described the facility as the endpoint of collective hard work, adding that as a Director-General, he tried to make sure that the whole agency was transformed.
According to him, under him, NITDA started rebuilding, renovating and awarded the projects but had to leave when the projects started due to his appointment as a Minister.
Dr. Pantami noted that all the projects are in line with the three cardinal objectives of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in growing the economy, improving the security of lives and properties of Nigerians and also curbing corruption in governance.
He said with the current security challenge the nation is facing, upgrading of the Computer Emergency Response and Readiness Centre could not have come at a better time.
“Today there are many challenges with regards to security based on what is happening online, with these new facilities, we would be the watchdog of the Federal Government to monitor potentials cyber-crime attacks in our country, come up with policies and strategies to see how we can prevent our country from attacks,” he added.
Earlier, NITDA’s Director General (DG), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, maintained that the rebranding of the Agency is to ensure it reflects the Digital Economy Agenda of the government.
“This new Policy has expanded NITDA’s mandate and made it compulsory to rebrand in line with the new policy. The new brand is a paradigm shift from IT-centric to digital centric NITDA which includes a new logo, new vision, new mission and new core values,” he said.
Mal. Abdullahi, assured that the brand would be a game changer in the culture, mindset and public perception of the Agency, adding that for NITDA to implement the National Digital Economy policy, it would need to be “digital and smart.”
The event was graced by the Chairman, NITDA Governing Board, Dr. Abubakar Saidu; Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Dambatta; and the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Muhammed Bello Abubakar; among other top government functionaries.
