The public hearing of the Senate and House Committee on ICT & Cyber Security on Friday suffers set back, as members of the committee adjourned indefinitely.
Committee members said the Minister of Science and Technology and the Director General of NITDA who are the key drivers to the bill’s absent was enough reason to adjourn the public hearing pending their availability.
The also said, the documents were not made available ahead of the public hearing, a situation they frown against, and which is the fulcrum for the adjournment.
Meanwhile, Hon. Ishaka Ibrahim having outlined reasons why they can’t go ahead with the public hearing, which include the absent of Minister, DG NITDA and absent of document forbtheir perusals moved the motion for the adjournment of the public hearing and was carried accordingly.
Notwithstanding, Senator Yakubu Useni (APC Kogi Central) who is the Senate committee chairman on ICT and Cyber Security while putting the question before the members on whether they should adjourn the public hearing explained that the Minister and the DG reached out to him on their engagement on Friday, thereby seeking for permission to be pardoned which as the chairman he graciously granted to them.
According to Senator Useni, “Let it be on record that the fault of not getting documents before now is strictly on you, Honourable members because we in the Senate got the documents.
“Also, the Minister and the DG reached out to me and seek permission to be away today (Friday) being the fact that they can represented,” he said.
