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The director-general of the Nationwide Workplace for Expertise Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, has mentioned that corporations that don’t submit their expertise switch agreements to NOTAP for correct analysis and registration will quickly face stiff penalties and prosecution.
This was disclosed in a press release issued on Wednesday by the pinnacle of Public Relations and Protocol unit of NOTAP, Raymond Ogbu.
Dr. Amadiobi issued the warning when she led the highest Administration employees of NOTAP on a familiarisation go to to some Info and Communication Expertise (ICT) corporations in Lagos on Thursday, June 13, 2024. She acknowledged that NOTAP was established to manage the influx of international expertise by the registration of expertise switch agreements to advertise the event of domestically motivated applied sciences.
The NOTAP director-general additional acknowledged that whereas the Workplace was working assiduously to make sure that Nigerian corporations had been provided the very best contractual phrases in acquisition of international applied sciences, some corporations had been hiding beneath the non-registration of {hardware} to avert registration of their agreements as a result of they’ve lumped up software program and {hardware} collectively thereby shortchanging the system.
She expressed the dedication of the Workplace in synergising with corporations that strictly adjust to NOTAP guidelines however will guarantee stiff punishment for erring ones.
She mentioned: “Accessible information present {that a} larger proportion of corporations in Nigeria function on imported applied sciences which run into tens of millions of {dollars} with out NOTAP registration necessitated by Legislation, thereby shortchanging the Nigerian financial system.
“By regulation, it’s necessary that NOTAP ought to be concerned throughout the expertise negotiation stage to make sure that the Nigerian entrepreneur acquires acceptable expertise in finest contractual phrases so to allow rendition of companies commensurate with the cash expensed on it,” the assertion mentioned.
The brand new NOTAP boss mentioned that in step with the Renewed Hope mantra of the current administration, no firm is allowed to proceed to keep away from registration of expertise switch agreements with NOTAP. She additionally acknowledged that some operators lump acquisition of international {hardware} with the software program with the declare that the expertise cannot be registered since it’s {hardware}.
The NOTAP boss emphasised that such corporations had been doing nice disservice to the nation and may henceforth desist from such practices.
Earlier, in his welcome deal with, the Managing Director and Chief Government Officer of Laptop Warehouse Group (CWG), Mr. Adewale Adeyipo, expressed delight within the power and enthusiasm demonstrated by the brand new Director Common inside a number of days of her appointment, including that the corporate was prepared and prepared to accomplice with NOTAP in making certain the event of the ICT ecosystem.
He mentioned that NOTAP’s mandate and actions are monumental and strategic to immediately or not directly generate over 2000 jobs yearly inside the ICT area. He added that for a nation to be globally aggressive, it should undertake one of many key components of development, which is ICT holistically.
He mentioned that what authorities within the developed nations take into account first whereas considering of funding is digital penetration and regretted that through the years the Nation has expended over 987.8 million US {dollars} on digital media subscription and downloads, including that this sum may have been saved for Nigerian financial development if enough help for native ICT operators had come from authorities by insurance policies.
In the identical vein, the Managing Director and Chief Government Officer of Microsoft Nigeria plc, Mrs. Ola William mentioned that NOTAP had completed remarkably properly in fast-tracking the event of the ICT sector.
She used the chance to debunk the hearsay making the rounds that Microsoft was winding as much as depart Nigeria, including that the corporate was dedicated to the sustainable development of the ICT ecosystem, the assertion added.