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NITDA coordinates national PKI implementation

By Peter Oluka
18 August 2017   |   4:09 am
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) it has taken steps to harmonise Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) related projects in Nigeria, in fulfilment of the mandate.

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) it has taken steps to harmonise Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) related projects in Nigeria, in fulfilment of the mandate.

This was contained in a circular signed by Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami, director general/CEO of NITDA, addressed to all sector based regulatory agencies, Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as the general public.

Dr. Pantami said the notice became necessary and in line with one of the resolutions reached by a recent high level meeting held at the Office of the Acting President, Presidential Villa, chaired by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on ICT and attended by the Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, the Director General, National Identity Management Commission and the Director General, NITDA.

The meeting was convened to resolve the challenges of lack of control and central regulation of the PKI services currently delivered by government establishments mandated.

Resolutions from the meeting include: PKI Administration: As part of the harmonisation process, NITDA will take ownership, administration and regulation of the National PKI, ensuring full use and benefits of the associated PKI-as-a-Service (PaaS), including the issuance of Document Signer Certificates, the management of the Public Key Directory (PKD) via the Nigerian Country Signing Certificate Authority (CSCA) Master-list.

PKI Services: In line with the Federal Government’s initiative on Digital Economy, this will further enhance use of digital certificates to authenticate documents e.g. Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Certificates, Tax Clearance Certificates and other legal documents.

IT Procurements: All MDAs as directed by FEC should endeavour to seek IT project approval from NITDA, in order to avoid past experiences of huge losses incurred through multiple or conflicting projects.

Fourthly, Coordinating PKI Harmonisation Initiative: The Office of the Vice President is responsible for coordinating the harmonisation initiative, as part of its effort to move the nation on a path towards a Digital Economy.

“The harmonisation process would include NITDA’s inauguration of a National Stakeholders’ Harmonisation Committee, bringing together all stakeholders in the industry, to recommend the best model for PKI infrastructure in the country.

“To this end all sector based regulators would be contacted by the Agency, to provide information on current efforts related to PKI in their various sectors. This would include MDAs that require some form of PKI services to carry out their statutory functions in a digital environment.

“Our desire as an Agency is to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that Nigerians benefit from the use of Information Technology to enhance and simplify their daily activities, especially service delivery by government and other institutions”, NITDA Boss said.

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