In order to prevent any cyberattack during the General Election of 2023, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), has established a committee to coordinate the actions of computer security centres in the information and communication technology sector.
The committee will advise the Federal Government on appropriate steps to take to protect the nation’s cyberspace and ICT infrastructure from potential attacks; especially during the 2023 general election. That was according to the President, who was represented by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami.
Prof. Adeolu Akande, Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, has been appointed to preside over the committee. He said the committee’s work will help the nation hold an election that is free, fair, and credible; given the increased role of ICT in online activities and its critical role in the conduct of the 2023 elections. He made this statement during the committee’s inauguration on Thursday in Abuja.
Pantami said, “Our main responsibilities in this committee are more of advisory. Firstly, when it comes to intercepting potential attacks that may come to our cyberspace, the committee will coordinate the NCC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team at NCC; the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team at the National Information Technology development Agency and the Galaxy Backbone’ National Cybersecurity Centre.
“These three centres must work together, complement each other and ensure they intercept any potential attack on our cyberspace; particularly on our critical infrastructure during the election so that we could either take action or provide necessary advice to the government. Reuben Muoka, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, signed the statement.
According to Pantami, the committee will collaborate closely with organizations like the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Office of the National Security Adviser, and mobile network operators, among others, to jointly protect the nation’s cyberspace from potential attacks, vandalism, and fiber cuts during the election.
He added, “The challenge of protecting our cyberspace is a collective national responsibility; it is a national assignment. As a sector, we will play our own responsibility objectively and professionally. We will work collectively rather than working individually as agencies since we are in the same sector.”
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and the Director General of NITDA, Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi, are members of the committee. He further added that they will work nonstop from Friday, February 24, 2023, through Monday, February 27, 2023.
