The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Ali Ibrahim Pantami, on Thursday inaugurated a Committee led by the Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Adeolu Akande, to advise government on appropriate measures to take in protection of the nation’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure from potential attacks, especially during the 2023 elections.
The Minister explained that the constitution of the Committee was on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari and that the committee would work to coordinate computer security centres in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in collaboration with other relevant institutions towards intercepting potential cyber-attacks.
He said with the increased role of ICT in online activities and its crucial role in the conduct of the 2023 elections in line with the Electoral Act, as amended, the Committee would assist the government in conducting free, fair and credible elections.
The minister directed the Committee, of which he and the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, and the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi, among other CEOs in the ministry are members, to work from Friday through Monday next week for the success of the presidential election.
According to him, the Committee will also ensure it receives complaints around any attacks to critical infrastructure and ensure such complaints are escalated to relevant institutions, public or private, for necessary remedial actions. The CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Mohammad Abubakar, and the Special Assistant to the Hon. Minister on Digital Economy, Prof Aminu Ahmad, are members of the Committee, including key directors in the agencies.
The minister further clarified: “Our main responsibilities in this Committee are more of advisory. Firstly, when it comes to intercepting potential attacks that may come to our cyberspace, the Committee will coordinate the NCC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team at NCC; the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team at the National Information Technology development Agency (NITDA) and the Galaxy Backbone’s National Cybersecurity Centre.
“These three centres must work together, complement each other and ensure they intercept any potential attacks on our cyberspace particularly on our Critical Infrastructure during the election so that we could either take action or provide necessary advice to the government”, he added.
Pantami said that the Committee would work closely with institutions such as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), mobile network operators (MNOs), among others, to collectively safeguard the Nigeria’s cyberspace from potential attacks or cases of vandalism and fibre cuts during the election.
“The challenges of protecting our cyberspace remained a collective national responsibility; it is a national assignment. As a sector, we would play our own responsibility objectively and professionally. We would work collectively rather than working individually as agencies since we are in the same sector,” he added.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Advisory Committee, Prof. Adeolu Akande, thanked the President for considering him and other members worthy to handle the very important national assignment, and assured the readiness of the Committee to work hard towards delivering on its mandates of ensuring the protection of the nation’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure during the elections.
He pledged: “The committee members will do everything in their capacity to deliver on their Terms of Reference.”
