DG, NOTAP, may stop banks’ craze for foreign software infrastructure
In order to reduce the craze for foreign software infrastructure acquisition, the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) says it will start dishonouring banks’ requests for foreign software purchases, because of the drain such a move portends for the nation’s foreign exchange reserves.
The Director-General of NOTAP, Dr. Dan-Azumi Ibrahim, who made this revelation, recently in Abuja during the presentation of patent certificates to some institutions, said that the Agency was already putting the finishing touches to its plans to encourage local initiatives in the facility.
He said,“We are already working in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to have Nigerians to develop banking applications. Once we are done, we will start refusing the banks’ applications for foreign software purchases.”
Dr. Ibrahim pointed out that banks were the biggest consumers of software in Nigeria, adding that four out of five items in software were on banking applications.
“This is our target. If we are able to develop banking applications by ourselves, we should be able to reduce if not replace foreign software consumption,” he stated.
The DG NOTAP disclosed that a bank can spend up to $20million for just one software. This, according to him, is huge. He argues that if Nigerians are able to develop banking software that meets the acceptable standard that will be the beginning of saving a lot of foreign exchange for the country.
He said he was already seeing that happening with the output of some young Nigerian innovators, who are producing world-class applications.
Daily Times gathered that those that received patent certificates at the ceremony, included, the Airforce Institute of Technology, which received a patent for Unmanned Ground Vehicle.
Others that also received certificates were the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos, which received three patents, and the National Institute for Oil Palm Research, which received two patents.
