HoS PARTNERS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON ICT, CYBER SECURITY

HoS PARTNERS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON ICT, CYBER SECURITY

To fast-track a secured, as well as a seamless transition from an analogue to a digital workplace, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan has assured members of the National Assembly of the readiness of the Service to collaborate with them. The synergy aims at realising the vision and mission of the present Administration in bequeathing a technologically driven Civil Service, in accordance with global best practices.

Dr. Yemi-Esan disclosed this when she received the members of the Senate Committee on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and Cyber Security led by its Chairman, Sen. Yakubu Oseni on a working visit to her Office, March 28, 2022.

While welcoming the free sensitization workshop for Civil Servants to be facilitated by the National Assembly through the private sector, the HoS reiterated the efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) in ensuring that government services go digital. She informed the Committee that out of the six thematic areas of the Federal Civil Service Strategies and Implementation Plan 2020-2025 (FCSSIP 2020-2025), four are ICT- based; Capacity Building, Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Performance Management System (PMS).

She added that the Office has gone far with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in the digitalisation of work flow with the digitalisation of files. She noted that, as a major first step, the Office has completed the development and digitalisation of Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) for all its Departments and Units, which necessitated NITDA to give approval for the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) take off.

Dr. Yemi-Esan, while expressing gratitude on the patriotic gesture of the National Assembly, however, identified inadequate training and infrastructure as the greatest challenges towards the realisation of the digitalisation goal. She called on well-meaning Nigerians and the private sector to assist the government to this end.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman, Distinguished Senator Oseni explained that the Committee has been mandated to ascertain the level of compliance on ICT in all the MDAs. According to him, this is in preparation for the future, as Nigeria is ready to move along with the rest of the world by going digital. He further disclosed that in order to achieve this objective, it was decided that there would be pro bono sensitization workshops for Management cadre Officers in the Civil Service. He pleaded with the HoS to woo Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Parastatals to take full advantage of the training programme.

Speaking further, a member of the Committee, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, acknowledged the high pedestal the HoS has taken the Federal Civil Service, especially in the areas of culture change and digitalization as is so obvious with the IPPIS. He also intimated that cyber security is one aspect of ICT that Nigeria, especially the public sector has to be conscious of as the country gradually transits from analogue to digital. In the private sector where digitalisation is more vivid, especially banks, cybercrime has reduced drastically, he added.

As an ICT savvy Legislator, he advised Civil Servants to embrace ICT as a new normal, putting in place measures to secure information, prepare on how to handle and prevent cyber-attacks because “they will surely come.”

 

 

Mohammed A. Ahmed,

Deputy Director, (Communications).

28th April, 2022