The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has deployed an indigenous software by Cagewox Dot Net Limited for the implementation of Presidential Executive Order No.5.
The Director-General of NOTAP Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim, who disclosed this in a statement signed by Solomon D. Nshem, Deputy Director (Public Relations & Protocol) at NOTAP, said the software is working perfectly and was made possible as a result of NOTAPs strong belief in the ingenuity of Nigerians.
“We have deployed the service of an indigenous software, which is aiding the successful implementation of the Executive Order No. 5 which was signed by the President on the 2nd of February 2018 to improve local content in public procurement with Science, Engineering and Technology Components,” the statement reads.
The DG explained that Executive Order No.5 is aimed at ensuring that all procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007.
According to him, Executive Order No.5 prohibits the Ministry of Interior from issuing visas to foreign nationals whose skills are readily available in Nigeria. In other words, the Order will preclude foreigners from taking contract jobs that Nigerians have the competence and capabilities to handle in a bid to not only protect and sustain the indigenous competencies but also to further build capacities as well as enhance their financial base.
With this, the President has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to engage indigenous professionals in the planning, design and execution of national security projects but where expertise is lacking, procuring entities will give preference to foreign firms with the demonstrable and verifiable plan for indigenous skills development prior to the award of such contracts.’
Dr. Ibrahim noted that NOTAP was mandated by the Order to develop, maintain and regularly update a database of Nigerians with expertise in Science, Engineering, Technology and other fields and thereby swung into action by engaging an indigenous IT firm, Cagewox Dot Net Limited to develop a robust central platform that captures, stores, analyses and provide search and reporting capacity on the profile and competencies of Nigerian professionals in Science, Engineering and Technology related fields.
The DG revealed that prior to the development of the platform, the process of managing, analyzing and reporting profiles of competencies of over one million Nigerian professionals abroad was difficult but the new platform has addressed those challenges.
The online solution was designed in line with the definition or stipulations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) classification of fields of Science and Technology (FOS) with five top-level categories; Natural Sciences, Engineering, Medical and Health Sciences, Agricultural Science and Information Technology.
He revealed that NOTAP has more than 7000 manual entries of COREN registered engineering personnel and with the development of the software by Cagewox Dot Net Limited, the database will be seamlessly updated and officially launched to enable MDAs to commence usage in line with the provisions of the E05 act.
Dr. Ibrahim, therefore, requests all Nigerian Science, Engineering and Technology experts to register their profiles with the office through the websites www.notap.gov.ng or https://dnp.notap.gov.ng for proper documentation adding that access to the Database of Nigerian Professionals (DNP) platform is web-based using all available browsers on any device.
He emphasized that the development of the software by Nigerians is a proof of the ingenuity of our people which should be greatly encouraged to ensure that the nation’s wealth remains in Nigeria for the benefit of our people.
The NOTAP boss opined that Executive Order 5 is a policy in the right direction since it will lead to an industrially diversified and self-sustaining economy which will reduce our total dependence on foreign technology.