The Executive Director CEO Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Ezra Yakusak yesterday said in 2018 the Council submitted itself for benchmarking by the International Trade Centre (ITC).
He said, at the end of the exercise, the results placed NEPC on a fairly sound footing but indicated that the Council needed to step up to become fully competitive in the international landscape.
Yakusak said this during a visit by the Minister, Industry Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, in Abuja, adding that one of such recommendations was the digitalisation of NEPC and provision of IT infrastructure to expedite effective service delivery.
He noted that while the Council was considering implementing that report, COVID-19 struck, causing disruptions in not only the NEPC, but also the public service. This necessitated the issuance of a circular by the Office of Head of Service of the Federation directing Ministries Departments and Parastatals to deploy technologies to curb similar incidences in the future.
According to the ED, “In February, this year, Management awarded a contract to Zinox Technologies Limited for the Procurement of hardware i.e Laptops/Desk tops for all Trade Promotion Officers in both Headquarters and the 33 Regional /State Offices. Another contract was awarded for the digitalisation of NEPC files and records at the Headquarters and the six Regional Offices”.