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The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education has urged the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) to partner with relevant stakeholders to improve efficiency in the country’s information and communication technology sector.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. Fuad Kayode Laguda, gave the advice on Wednesday during an oversight visit to the council’s headquarters in Abuja.
Laguda called on the council to strengthen collaboration with public and private-sector organisations to improve its operations and enhance efficiency in the ICT sector.
The chairman, however, expressed concerns on the limited funding available to the agency to execute enormity of its mandate.
Laguda advised the management of the council to seek legitimate alternative sources of funding, ensure global IT standards and elimination of quackery in the ICT ecosystem.
He requested that the council submit detailed records of its internally generated revenue, insurance coverage and other major expenditures to the committee’s secretariat.
Laguda assured the council of the committee’s commitment to conducting regular oversight visits and supporting efforts to improve its operations.
Earlier, the Registrar of the council, Mr Adebayo Adegbiji said that previous government policy removed regulatory councils from the list of agencies eligible for government funding.
He said that the policy placed the council in a difficult financial position until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu restored its funding through the 2026 Appropriation Act.
According to Adegbiji, the council’s activities had increased significantly following the restoration of government funding.
“Our feasibility index has increased, and our engagement with various government agencies has also increased and improved.
“We are currently working with various MDAs, including the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, the Bureau of Public Procurement, the Nigerian Communications Commission, and the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria.
“We are also working with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, National Board for Technical Education, Office of the National Security Adviser and National Information Technology Development Agency among others on several of programmers,” he said.
