Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has presented the condition of service and service Scheme to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The minister who made the presentation Tuesday, in Abuja said, this is the first-ever Career Structure (Scheme of Service) and Conditions of Service for the Agency.
“This Scheme of Service will serve as a veritable tool for making the Agency more functional as it develops into becoming one of the most strategic government institutions in Nigeria.
“It provides the approved cadre for the Agency and specifies the skills and certifications required for appointment and promotion in the Agency. The Scheme identifies 15 different cadres for the Agency,” he said.
He added that the Conditions of Service is to re-engineer the operations and structure of the Agency with the aim of providing an enabling environment for effective strategy development and execution.
“This will match the global industry requirements that are needed to develop and regulate the innovative and agile digital economy industry.
“The Scheme and Conditions of Service are a culmination of a process I commenced as director-general of NITDA in 2016 and continued till August 2019, when I was appointed as a Minister.
“This process was continued by the current director-general Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi after I resumed as a Minister on the 21st of August, 2019.
“The Scheme and Conditions of Service will enable the Agency effectively key into the digital economy mandate of the federal government, enhance the corporate culture of the Agency, attract and retain highly skilled staff, amongst others.”
According to the minister, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation received the final versions of both documents for vetting in May 2018.
And in February 2019, the Agency was advised to forward the Scheme and Conditions of Service to a higher authority for approval. “This advice informed my decision to forward the request for approval to Mr president, being the highest constitutional authority in Nigeria as the No 1 Citizen.
Both documents took almost 5 years to complete and they present a holistic approach to the development of the Agency on one hand and the employees on the other.
Key areas include the introduction of paternity and compassionate leave, responsibility award, transfer benefits and staff home ownership loan, among others.
“I always encourage people to ridicule their previous achievements if they truly want to surpass them. In line with this and as part of the implementation of the Conditions and Scheme of Service, I have directed the Board and Management of NITDA to ensure that there is a significant improvement in the performance of the Agency.”
He congratulated the Chairman of NITDA Board, the Director-General, the management and staff of the Agency, saying that, “the Agency has a critical role to play in the development of Nigeria’s Digital Economy and I urge you to use the approval of this Scheme and Conditions of Service as a springboard for greater impact.”
