Adeleke to preside @ Nigeria Internet Governance Forum ‘10

PRESIDENT of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN), Chief Samuel Adeleke has been named the chairman of the 2010 edition of annual Nigeria Digital Sense forum, which focuses on the evolutions on the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

Disclosing this in Lagos, last weekend, the organizers through the Executive Director, Operations, Digital Sense Africa, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, said the best person to take over the chairmanship of the event from Chief Chima Onyekwere, is Adeleke.

She calls to mind that Chief Onyekwere who presided over the forum last year at the Golden Gate Ikoyi-Lagos, is the chairman of Linkserve Group, the pioneer ISP firm in the country, while Adeleke is the chairman and chief executive officer, Steineng Limited since January 1999.

She expressed belief that the exploit will be repeated when the 2010 edition of the forum scheduled for Friday, April 16 at the same venue opens, as plans have been advanced to gather stakeholders to x-ray the ‘Five years of IGF: The way forward for Nigeria’.

In his acceptance speech to preside over the annual Nigeria Digital Sense forum, Chief Adeleke regretted not being available during the last year’s forum physically which he said, was followed religiously through the internet.

He also said that there is no doubt the feat of last edition of the forum would be repeated this year given the quality of speakers and attendance as well as the arrangements on ground to make it a success.

Adeleke further commended the organizers of the forum, DSA, for their foresight in finding value in putting such a forum together for the education and enlightenment of Nigerians, especially the internet community in the country, more so on the growing relevance of Internet Governance Forum.

For him, the need to consistently keep Nigeria and its internet community on their toes at this era where information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have continuously been identified as veritable tool for development.

He promised to mobilize the membership of ISPAN to participate at the 2010 edition of the Nigeria Digital Sense forum and beyond.

“We need to mobilize and participate in this forum for our own good and good of our customers using a global best bench mark,” he said.

The Digital Sense Africa boss, further noted that Chief Adeleke was the executive chairman, Digitek Teevee Engineering Company Limited, which is a telecommunications entity of over 13 years standing.

According to her, Chief Sam Adeleke was educated at the University of Plymouth and graduated with B.Sc in communication engineering in 1978.

Additionally, she said, he been saddled with the leadership of ISPAN in the past six years, hence contributing immensely to the development of Internet in the country.

Meanwhile, Digital Sense Africa has said the 2010 edition billed for the first month in second quarter is timely, following the necessity to vend Nigeria’s position to other West African nations prior to the global IGF.

DSA boss said, this could be well expressed during the regional Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

Other West African countries, she said, must be carried along in the nation’s bid to ensure that her own interest is well represented in the global session of the Internet Governance Forum.

The global IGF for this year, she noted, is coming much earlier than that of 2009, thus the decision to hold the Nigeria Digital Sense forum in April.

She pointed out that the global Internet Governance Forum will hold in Vilnius, Lithuania between September 14 and 17, 2010.

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