THE FORTHCOMING International Conference on Information Technology, tagged e-Nigeria, will now hold from March 10 to March 12, 2003.

The statement by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), organisers of the event, which will be the first ever to be put together by the government, said the postponement was a result of the forthcoming Eid-El-Kabir (Muslim celebration), which comes up between February 10 and 14, 2003.

The statement also said the decision to postpone the event was reached after a crucial meeting y the local planning committee and consultations with some foreign resource persons expected to participate at the event, which was expected to serve as a major boost to Nigeria's already growing image in the global information society.

It read in part that, "in the spirit of the celebration of Eid-El-Kabir week of February 1-0 - 14 2003, with our Muslim friends, who are also stakeholders in the nation's Information technology (IT) industry, we are constrained to postpone e-Nigeria to March 10 - 12, 2003."

According to the statement, the one month gap was to give enough room for all expected participants, and especially the foreign resource persons, to re-arrange their iteneries to be able to fully participate at the event.

Already, the event has been endorsed by Microsoft Nigeria, who are major sponsors, Nigerian Information Technology Professionals in America (NITDA), Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN).

The conference, which will also feature exhibitions, among other activities, will still hold at the planned Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre in Abuja.

Also the e-Africa Commission, the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) task force of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) has also expressed support for the international conference, which it believes is in line with the e-government initiative being promoted by the commission for African states.

The e-Nigeria is said to be NITDA's pet project to bring together IT stakeholders and experts within Nigeria,, in the diaspora and the international community. It is also an event to discuss current and future developments and assess the status of Nigeria in the global information society, while also considering contemporary issues in IT.

The conference will also serve as a regular platform to reward organisations/ individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the development of IT in Nigeria.