The partnership cuts across what was called strategic partners, banks and other private investors by management of NeGSt. Managing Director of NeGSt, Dr. Felix Obada, disclosed this at the signing ceremony, held at the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) building at Onikan-Lagos Island.
He said the signing would ensure that NeGSt takes off successfully in few months, and is a partnership between the Public and Private sectors, otherwise known as PPP - Public Private Partnership.
Tracing the origin of NeGSt platform to March 8, 2004 mandate by the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Obada said, he charged them to "go ahead and implement the Nigerian eGovernment project as a means of improving the way government businesses are carried out".
Dr. Obada also said, the 15-member consortium included the Federal Government, Oceanic International Bank Plc, Standard Trust Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith International Bank Plc and several others.
Introducing NeGSt, Dr. Obada said it was a creation of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology; as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to implement the Nigerian eGovernment project.
NeGSt, he pointing out, is a clearing house of Information Technology policies and in alignment with the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategies (NEEDS), through the National Planning Commission, to ensure Nigerian's participation and taking of its rightful place in the Global Information Society (GIS).
The initiative, he said, is a unique one in that it was modelled for PPP.
"Government is represented by NITDA, while the private sector consists of a consortium of top rated banks, two strategic partners, technology providers and high-net-worth individual investors," he declared.
Dr. Obada, further said that the primary concern of FG as far as NeGSt is concerned, was to ensure public sector reform and the institutionalisation of probity, transparency, accountability and delivery of dividends of democracy through good governance.
Whereas the private sector, he said, would focus on electronic commerce (eCommerce) and bottom line profit.
The acting Director-General of NITDA and chairman of NeGSt, Dr. Moses Ubaru, who also represented the Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Turner Isoun, signed on behalf of the government. While the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NeGSt, Dr. Olu Agunloye, endorsed the NeGSt column among the participating shareholders present at the signing ceremony presided over by the director of NeGSt and Co-ordinator of the National Cyber-Crime Working Group (NCWG), Mr. Basil Udotai.
Autor: Remmy Nweke
Quelle: AllAfrica, 13.01.2005
