W.Afri.Tel, WAFICT 2011 postponed

By Prince Osuagwu

Organisers of the annual West Africa’s top telecommunications and IT exhibition and conference, W.Afri.Tel and the WAFICT Congress, at the weekend announced that the 11th edition of the events which was originally scheduled to hold from June 14-16, 2011 have been rescheduled.

According to them, the political situation before and after the general elections contributed in no small measure to the postponement. “Following the rather slow pace of activity in the country, in the build up to, and the general elections proper, many exhibitors and delegates, wary of the outcome of the elections only became reassured just as the presidential inauguration was about to take place.

This left them with little or no time to make travel plans, especially with Nigerian missions and embassies requiring six weeks to process visas in many countries”.

In a joint statement titled ‘W.Afri.Tel/WAIFCT 2011: Urgent Notice to all Participants,’ the organisers of the two-in-one events, Mr. John Thompson, Managing Director of Exhibition Management Services, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation and Mr. Mkpe Abang, Editor-in-Chief of IT & Telecom Digest, explained added that “after 10 years of unblemished delivery to West Africa’s telecom industry, W.Afri.Tel 2011 has in its 11th year suffered at the hands of politics, not industry politics but government politics. With our local business caught up in election fever and international exhibitors wary of possible disruptions resulting from the outcome of the elections, firm commitments to exhibit this year were put on ice while events played out”.

Meanwhile, a new date of October 18-20 has been announced for the twin events.