The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has initiated a Consumer Protection Forum designed to address consumers’ complaints over poor indigenous IT products and service delivery.

Mr Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General of NITDA disclosed this on Tuesday in a webinar that was monitored in Abuja, with focus on ” Virtual Digital Services Consumer Protection Forum.”

A draft framework on Alternative Dispute Resolution for the ICT sector of the country was also presented for review at the online meeting.

Inuwa, represented by Dr Usman Gambo, Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions, said the forum, the first of its kind in the country, would enable the agency settle such complaints in a non-litigious manner.

The director general said the forum was very critical to the success of NITDA’s strategy, which was aimed at building qualitative indigenous content for consumption in the ICT sector.

Inuwa said that the multiple complaints and quality of ICT products and services had led to the conceptualisation of the consumer forum as well as drafting the alternative dispute resolution in ICT framework.

According to him, leaving such issues unattended will lead to lack of confidence in local ICT products and services, which in turn attract very low patronage and cause job loss.

He reiterated that NITDA was committed to protecting digital products and services for  consumers, and encouraged citizens to patronise made in Nigeria ICT products.

Inuwa said that NITDA had been playing its role in ensuring that it maximised opportunities embedded in the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The director emphasised that the Federal Government had prioritised addressing challenges of the information technology sector from a holistic point of view.

Mr Olayinka Adejube, Director, Standards Guidelines and Frameworks, in his remarks,  said the event was for service consumers and digital service providers to interact on possible ways of improving services.

“This event is to bring consumer and service providers to interact and see areas where there is need to work together to ensure that the essence of all the investment in digital economy is not wasted.” (NAN)

-Jul, 22. 2020 @ 00:29 GMT |