The ICTEL Expo 2016, a professional trade show that draws attentions to ICT and Telecommunication industry, been organized by the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), was on Thursday endorsed by several industry stakeholders including the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

ICTEL 2016 mulled by the premier chamber of commerce in West Africa, will take place in the city of Lagos, the commercial nerve center of West Africa.

The three days event slated for 26th to 28th of July, 2016 with the theme, “Mobility, Technology and the Nigerian Economy”, will be driven by four key sub-themes: ICT for economic growth and poverty reduction; Exploring smart cities opportunities and the internet of everything thing; ICT and organizational efficiency and Using data science to gain unassailable market advantage.

Professor Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the Commission was happy to identify with LCCI on the expo, adding that since 2001, the country’s telecommunication’s industry has witnessed tremendous growth.

The EVC who was represented by Mr Joseph Atoyebi, the Commission’s deputy director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, said that with 216million connected telephone lines as at March 2016, Nigeria stands to gain a lot on leveraging opportunities in the sector to boost the economic fortunes.

According to him, the telecoms industry has become a success enabler to other industries with the upsurge in telephone density cutting across the technology platforms including the GSM; Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and fixed wired/wireless.

He extolled LCCI for its technology focus with ICTEL as benchmark to create awareness on opportunities to grow every sector.

On his part, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, director general of NITDA represented by Mr. Bernard Ewah, head, e-Government Unit in the Agency, said that theme for the expo was apt as the platform will encourage conversations and the sharing of opinions on innovations and trends as well as providing an excellent networking opportunity for business decision makers, innovation managers, start-ups, ICT academics, OEMs, venture capitalists, and other players in the Nigeria ICT sectors.

He said that the Agency will not relent on leveraging existing relationship with LCCI to achieve the mandate which includes focusing the responsibilities of the Agency on fostering the development and growth of IT in Nigeria.

The NITDA boss applauded ICTEL 2016 which offers three days of inspiration, innovation and information.

Also, Chris Uwaje, newly appointed Co-Chair for Publicity & Communications for Africa on 2016 IEEE 3rd World Forum on Internet of Things (WF-IoT), expressed delight to associate with the Chamber on the ICT expo, stressing he has been on the vanguard for LCCI to embrace IT/ICT to better the worth of members.

He said, “The Change people are talking about come in different colourations. We in the ICT sector have a responsibility to putting the nation on the path of knowledge-based economy. This can be easily achieved when partners like LCCI embraces the process, products and services that IT/ICTs offer”.

He however, called for improved government attention on e-governance as the nucleus to drive other automations and IT agenda.

“I am happy that we are now having common grounds to chat. For instance, in the era of Internet of Things (IoTs), how do we manage the e-commerce, e-health, e-learning, without anchoring the processes on e-governance. Without e-governance, which is different from computerisation, we may not achieve much”, noted by the former President of Institute of Software Practitioner of Nigeria (ISPON) Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN).

In her remarks, Dr. (Mrs) Nike Akande, President of LCCI, said that ICTEL Expo 2016 will continue to connect businesses and create businesses and create opportunities for Nigerians in the ICT sector.

She said that with the Expo’s theme, “The Chamber seeks to draw attention to available opportunities in mobile technology and this trend is changing the nature and processes of doing business across the globe. Mobile technology is making businesses more instant, relevant and smart.

“The ICTEL Expo 2016, therefore, offers a platform for corporate organisations seeking to build partnerships for enhanced profitability. It is a veritable opportunity for government and private sector operators to meet and article policies that would boost the productivity of ICT sector in Nigeria and create more jobs”, she said.

Akande further called on government to provide the needed enabling environment for the ICT and telecommunication sector to thrive through enactment of relevant legislations.

“This sector has the potential of becoming a major contributor to the nation’s GDP. We reported during the presentation of our findings in our collective industry survey, which was presented to the public last month, that the ICT sector is one of the major priority sectors is one of the major priority sectors that Nigeria should target for diversification efforts,” she said adding that ICTEL expo is the Chamber’s intervention in starting relevant conversations and providing a platform for the development of ICT and telecommunications sector.