Foreign software supports over 90% of Nigerian economy – NOTAP DG

The Director-General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. DanAzumi Ibrahim has disclosed that foreign software supports over 90 percent of the Nigerian economy, be it in the ICT sector, banking and communication technology.

The position was disclosed in a press statement issued by Mr Raymond Ogbu of the Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP in Abuja recently, which quoted the DG NOTAP as saying that the regulatory agency saddled with the responsibly of regulating the inflow of foreign technology into the country is sad about the development and have come up with a policy that would give the local software developers the financial leverage to engage in further research in order to upgrade their inventions to meet global standard.

“At NOTAP, we are pained at the fact that over 90 percent of the Nigerian economy be it in the ICT sector, banking and communication technology were supported by foreign software, thereby seeing a huge amount of money paid to foreign software companies, leaving our local developers with nothing,” Ibrahim said.

The policy, he said will give local software developers up to 40 percent of annual maintenance fee payable to foreign software suppliers, thus empowering indigenous software to boost the economy and curtail foreign dependency.

“The policy stipulates that since software agreement lasts only for one year, 40 percent of the annual maintenance fee must go to local software vendors.

The idea behind the policy is to give the local software developers the financial leverage to engage in further research in order to upgrade their inventions to meet global standard,” he added.

The NOTAP DG asserted that some local companies which include Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) Plc have begun to reap the benefit from the policy by making huge profits as well as improving their capacities and spread.