Dr Fikta Steve, President of the Geoinformation Society of Nigeria (GEOSON), says the proposed GEOSON bill is aimed at setting standards for geospatial data usage in Nigeria.
Steve told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that the bill was not to take over the roles of professional bodies in the country.
NAN reports that the GEOSON bill aims to provide an Act of Parliament to regulate, encourage, promote the usage of geospatial technology in public and private sectors
He recalled that during the past National Assemblies, the bill had received resistance from relevant professional bodies, who misunderstood its intentions.
Steve said that such misconceptions among professionals had caused the delay in the passage of the bill.
He said: “It is sad to say that in the 10th Assembly, we have not presented the bill yet, because of misunderstanding about the bill by some professional bodies.
“Some of the professional bodies think that GEOSON bill is going to take away their profession.
“So, we have to allow the bill to go for public hearing by engaging relevant stakeholders to get inputs from other organisations and also engage in more advocacy, “
He said that GEOSON was not after taking over any body’s profession but rather after standards.
“We are after standards; we are saying, let there be standards of usage of geospatial data in Nigeria, let there be up-to-date data,” Steve said.
The president also said that part of the contents of the bill was to separate roles of agencies of government with the mandate of producing data.
According to him, this would reduce redundancy, overlapping data and wastage for the government.
He disclosed that GEOSON was partnering the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, through office of the Director-General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), to present the bill as an Executive bill.
Steve added that the strategic collaboration would enhance smoother passage of the bill by the legislature.
“We hope that before the end of the 10th National Assembly, the bill will be before the NASS as an executive bill,” he said.
The GEOSON boss said his organisation had engaged in series of advocacy introducing some programmes to promote GIS education in secondary schools, universities and other tertiary institutions.
He stated that part of its focus was to catch them young early, adding that the advocacy was beginning to gain momentum.
He reiterated GEOSON’s commitment to advancing geospatial data management in Nigeria and fostering a new generation of GIS professionals to drive innovation and efficiency in the sector.
(NAN)
