Kogi Central Senator and Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT/Cybercrime, Senator Yakubu Oseni has called on individuals and government authorities at all levels to expeditiously rise against the scourge of cyber insecurity orchestrated by fraudsters in Nigeria and beyond.
Senator Oseni alongside Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Buhari Abdulfatai and other members made the call today at the office of Accountant-General of the Federation in Abuja while embarking on the statutory oversight functions of the Committee as enshrined in sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended in 1999.
The Committee members were received by the Accountant-General, Ahmed Idris and ten other Directors in the office.
In a short remark, Senator Oseni argued that if a nation must be in line with the global technological advancement, conscious effort must be made by all relevant stakeholders to secure its cyber space which he reiterated has become indispensable in all sectors of the economy.
“Just like I elucidated at the previous agencies that we visited yesterday, whether it is security and intelligence, education, banking, agriculture, health services, manufacturing, aviation, power generation, building technology, immigration services, etc, ICT has become the key infrastructure.
“We therefore cannot fold our arms watching this very sensitive aspect of our lives being hijacked by criminal elements instead of celebrating its breakthrough,” he said.
The lawmaker who further noted that the country still lags in infrastructure sophistication, data management and digital security which are critical to development agenda, lamented that funding on digital technology infrastructure is inadequate compared to the enormity of need and challenges therein.
While responding, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris who expressed satisfaction with the way with which the lawmakers sought to know the ICT status of the office, pledged that all relevant issues raised would be addressed before year 2021.
He specifically commended Senator Oseni for his deep insights in the world of ICT, adding that ninety percent of the staff and work processes in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation are ICT compliant.
