The Nigerian government has reconstituted the National Block Chain Policy Steering Committee (NBP-SC) to validate trends in blockchain technology and incorporate new stakeholders for inclusive adoption and implementation.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, inaugurated the steering committee in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, at a three-day co-creation workshop for the implementation of the National Blockchain Policy (NBP).
The National Information Technology Development Agency @NITDANigeria reconstitutes the National Blockchain Policy Steering Committee (NBP-SC) to validate trends in blockchain technology and include new stakeholders for inclusive adoption and implementation.
Director-General… pic.twitter.com/rqmrTeHx6S
— Voice of Nigeria (@voiceofnigeria) May 21, 2024
The committee was initially inaugurated on May 16, 2023.
The committee consisted of members from government agencies, institutions, the private sector, academia, and the industry involved in the blockchain ecosystem.
Inuwa, represented by the Director of IT Infrastructure Solutions, NITDA, Mr. Oladejo Olawumi, said they were constituted to oversee the implementation of the National Blockchain Policy (NBP) and ensure its alignment with the overall goals and objectives of the policy.
The NITDA boss said that blockchain technology was evolving and had increasingly transformative applications, hence the need to leverage the dynamic potential it possessed.
“Presently, we are at the initial stage of blockchain technology implementation, and because of that, many people are not aware of the potential of the technology. Blockchain technology is so vast and can be used in any industry, and that is why the policy was developed to ensure we tap into the full potential of blockchain technology.
“The continuously evolving nature of blockchain technology and its increasingly transformative applications across diverse sectors necessitate a commensurate evolution in our leadership.
“We realised there was a need to infuse some more members into the committee to ensure that we have full membership from the public and private sectors to prevent anything that had occurred in the past,” Inuwa said.
According to him, the strategic reconstitution of the committee, Inuwa said, would bring together a fresh wave of experienced professionals and leading minds in the blockchain space.
He noted that their diverse expertise will be instrumental in crafting a robust implementation plan for the National Blockchain Policy.
Citing a report by Price Waterhouse Coopers, an audit firm, titled “Time for Trust: The Trillion-Dollar Reason to Rethink Blockchain,” Inuwa projected that blockchain technology could boost the global economy by 1.76 trillion dollars by the year 2030.
He underscored the need for Nigeria to be strategic and take advantage of the offerings from the potential in Blockchain technology.
“Together, we can leverage its potential to propel Nigeria’s socio-economic engine and enhance the transparency and efficiency of governance. Blockchain can empower our citizens and businesses with secure and inclusive digital solutions in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration,” Inuwa said.
Head of the Digital Technology Development Division, Digital Economy Development Department of NITDA, Dr. Ayodele Bakare, said the workshop would build the capacity of participants to know modern-day blockchain technology.
“Blockchain technology has new realities, and we have included new members with fresh ideas that will help with the implementation plan.
The workshop is also an opportunity to build the capacity of the committee members because the majority of the members are not operating within the IT space. We are also going to have partners in the implementation of blockchain use cases for different sectors of the economy,” Bakare said.
The highlighted sectors to be reviewed at the workshop include health, land registry, and education, which would be presented to the committee for immediate implementation.
