NITDA, CPN Move to Address Anomalies in Contracts for IT Projects

Emma Okonji

The Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) has said that the joint committee set up from among members of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and CPN, will strive to enhance professionalism as well as boost local content development in award of government contracts for technology related projects.

President of CPN, Prof. Charles Uwadia, gave the assurance following the Federal Executive Order 005 for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology, recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari

The managements of CPN and NITDA, had sequel to the executive order, met with elders of the IT professionals and practitioners on March 19th, 2018, where they resolved that the NITDA and CPN would collaborate to improve professionalism in Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria, a development that led to the setting up of a joint committee of NITDA – CPN. The committee was represented by five-members from each agency.

The NITDA is a government agency responsible for the implementation of IT polices in Nigeria, while the CPN is a government agency, responsible for the regulation, control and supervision of the computing profession and practice in Nigeria.

Addressing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, Uwadia said the NITDA-CPN joint committee was a calculated attempt for the committee to address the anomalies in the lopsided award of government contracts that are technology related, to ensure that qualified contractors with good knowledge of IT are awarded IT related projects. According to him, this would help address government abandoned projects scattered across the county, while improving on professionalism and local content development in award of government contracts.

Uwadia who took over the leadership of CPN on September 8, 2017, after the CPN Council was inaugurated by the Minister for Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said the CPN Council would continue to support government in achieving its goal of driving the Nigerian economy with the right technologies.

Furthermore, he said the CPN, had since his assumption of office last year, accredited four tertiary institutions in professional courses on Computer Sciences and related courses from July to October, 2017.

He however said during the visit to the institutions for accreditation, some institutions did not meet the standard and were either given an interim accreditation status or complete denial accreditation status.

According to him, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, which now has B. Sc Computer Science, got interim accreditation status; Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, which now has B.Sc Computer Science, got interim accreditation status; Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, which now has B.Sc Computer Science, got denied accreditation status; Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, which now has B.Sc Information and Management Technology, got full accreditation status; and Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, which had B.Sc in Computer Science, got interim accreditation status.

CPN Registrar, Mr. Allwell C. Achumba, said since IT remained the fulcrum of any thriving economy, Council has chosen to focus on this invaluable tool that will propel the Nigerian economy and prepare industries for global competitiveness.

Citing the CPN Act, which empowers Council on the regulation, control and supervision of the computing profession and practice in Nigeria in line with Section 1 (2) of the Act, Achumba advised IT professionals seeking to engage, or are engaged in IT training/Education, sale or use of computing facilities, to ensure full registration with the CPN Council.

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