Nigeria Loses N4.5billon Annually to IT Quacks

The Computer Professionals, Registration Council of Nigeria, or CPN, has said the Federal Government loses over N4.5billion yearly to quacks in the information communication technology, ICT, industry.

CPN is a body under the Ministry of Education, responsible for control and supervision of the computing profession.

Its President/Council Chairman, Vincent Asor, who spoke in Lagos to unveil activities for the 2016 IT Professionals Assembly with Towards a Dependable and Sustainable National IT Infrastructure as its theme, said with Federal Government’s support bolstered by the private sector, the CPN has the capacity to stop the over N4.5 billion yearly loss through regulation of the industry.

Asor, who slammed quacks in IT practice, said to halt the needless financial loss, the government should sack any person or group engaging in IT practice without registration with immediate effect.

“Quackery has been the bane of IT practice in Nigeria; it is worrisome. Quackery in IT practice must stop. The Federal Government says the country is broke; ICT is a sector that can boost government’s revenue; CPN can raise billions of naira for the government yearly,” He said.

“We have more than 100,000 IT professionals in the country with less than N10, 000 annual fees for individuals. We also have about 20,000 corporate IT professionals with N150, 000 annual fees. There is no reason we cannot raise the said amount if all IT professionals registers with the CPN. This Council can support the government with this amount without moving out of the office.”

“It is time the Federal Government woke up. IT is open to everybody in the information highway but it must be regulated accordingly. If practitioners are registered, cyber crime will reduce to the barest minimum and we will make money for the government,” he added.