Remmy Nweke — Telecommunications experts, yesterday in Lagos tasked the National Assembly to pass the relevant laws to boost electronic payment system in the country.

First to speak was a Lagos-based telecom lawyer, Mr. Adewale Jones, who said that Nigeria needs more than the Act of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that electronic money (e-money) transactions thrive in the country.

Mr. Jones also said that e-money has a nomenclature that makes it not negotiable, thus open to criminal manipulations.

"Nigeria needs more than CBN Act for e-money to thrive in Nigeria," he declared, stressing that by improving upon what is currently obtainable in CBN Act, there was need for an Electronic Communications Act, similar to what is obtained in Europe, United States and even some African nations.

He also lamented the fact that for the past four years, the bill on the Computer Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection has been lying unattended at the National Assembly.

"The time is now ripe for Nigeria to pass the bill," he said.

Also speaking, President, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) Mr. Lanre Ajayi, highlighted the essence of promoting electronic payment (e-payment) so that electronic commerce could flourish.

While commending the Federal Government for introducing e-payment in transactions concerning Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the country, Mr. Ajayi urged the government to reciprocate this by making it a policy statement that those that have payments to make into its purse should execute that through e-payment systems available today.

"Government should be encouraged to come up with policies to grow commerce," he said, advising that Nigerians should pay less attention to the negative aspect of the system.

In his contribution at the forum organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission own (NCC) in collaboration with Nigeria Communications Week, the national president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem said that Nigerian law makers need to understand the importance of electronic transactions so as to make requisite laws.

He cited for instance the aspect of Nigeria Evidence Act, saying that it's an analogue Act and if not modified, the Cybercrime clamour may not be a success after all.

This, he said, is because both lawyers and judges need to be aware of what is at stake in order to make good judgment over a business transaction.

Earlier in his address , the chairman of the forum and presiding officer of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo said that telecommunications development in Nigeria is playing an integral role in the nation's march towards a greater country by year 2020.

He predicted that over 80 per cent of Nigerians have access to some form of telecommunication services, either as a direct user of telecom or by the benefit associated with telecommunication support services.

Adebayo pointed out that a major break in transformation of e-payment system in the country was the full automation of the banking systems, followed by the rapid development of the e-banking.

In Nigeria of today, the relatively stable regulatory and policy environment has accelerated investment flow into the sector, resulting in the rapid roll out of multifarious communications services.

The growth in the sector, he said, resulted in the creation of over 12,000 direct jobs while hundreds more were informally employed through the sector.

"Telecom is a key contributor to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP0 of Nigeria," he said.