The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has hinted on its plans to sanction and prosecute Nigerian companies that import technologies without evaluation and formal registration.
The Director-General of NOTAP, Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, who made this disclosure during a media briefing on Monday in Abuja, pointed out that legally, companies dealing with foreign technologies in the country were required to submit its technology transfer agreements to her Office for proper evaluation and registration.
According to her, this statutory role is given to NOTAP in order to enable it efficiently regulate the inflow of foreign technologies into the country and by so doing, promote the development of local technologies.
Amadiobi disclosed that many Nigerian companies were currently not complying with this requirement, thereby undermining efforts by the government, experts and investors to leverage Nigeria’s economy on digital techs and solutions.
She clarified: “Available records show that a greater percentage of companies in Nigeria operate on imported technologies which run into millions of dollars without NOTAP registration necessitated by law, thereby shortchanging the Nigerian economy.”
The NOTAP boss restated the agency’s commitment to working with law abiding tech companies and warned that stiff penalties would be imposed on companies that were avoid registering their agreements by combining software and hardware, which makes it difficult for proper evaluation of the products.
Amadiobi maintained that no company would be allowed to continue to flout the registration of technology transfer agreements with NOTAP as the measure is aimed at ensuring that services provided are commensurate with the expenditures.
