By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has moved to drive the adoption of the .ng domain names in the country with the setting up of a 14-man enforcement committee to ensure Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) comply with the Nigerian Second-Level Domain name policy.
Mrs Hadiza Umar, the Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, NITDA said in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja that, “The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the National Second Level Domain Policy on February 16, making it mandatory for use of government-owned websites and official email correspondence by all government personnel.
“It will ensure that the government’s drive towards economic diversification and commitment to the development of a robust digital economy is realised.
“NITDA is mandated by its enabling (NITDA Act, 2007) of Second Schedule Section 6(m) to manage and administer Nigeria’s ccTLD (.ng).
“This power gives NITDA the authority to allocate and administer the Nigerian Government Second-Level domains on .gov.ng; .edu.ng; .mil.ng; .sch.ng and any other second-level domain name that may be approved in the future.”
Mrs Umar explained further that the approval of the policy had helped NITDA to inaugurate the 14-man enforcement committee to monitor its implementation.
She said the new policy was expected to drastically enhance public confidence in the authenticity and security of information and other services accessed from government-owned websites, explaining that the federal government desired that all its information and services online be on the Nigerian Government Second-Level domains.
Mrs Umar added that the online presence of the Nigerian government in its identity is a strategy for dominance in the digital economy.
“The use of generic domains and private emails for government businesses and correspondences impedes the Nigerian government’s identity, security and global recognition on the internet.”
Mrs Umar, however, said that 99 per cent of MDAs at the Federal level were confirmed to have made the transition to the .ng domain and they maintained compliance with the Nigeria ccTLD scheme.
She decried that it was not the same at the state and local government levels, where 80 per cent of administration websites and mail addresses lacked the .ng validation.
“Therefore, the newly-inaugurated committee has mapped out a strategy for transitioning all remaining government websites and mail addresses at all levels to .ng domains.
“NITDA, as a result of this, is requesting that all government websites and email addresses at all levels use the .ng domain henceforth.
“We advise that MDAs at all levels should stop using domains from the internet providers or mail providers.
“NITDA is working with the relevant organisations to ensure that all government institutions have access to dedicated domain names,” Mrs Umar said.
She, however, urged the domain name service providers to support the initiative by ascertaining that any government domain to be registered by them conformed to the directive to ensure the general adoption of .ng.
Aduragbemi Omiyale