Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has saved the federal government the sum of N3billion on a single cleared IT Project of an agency through its commitment as the government’s clearing house for all IT procurement and services in the public sector.
The agency made this known at a press release, which was made available to THISDAY and signed by Mrs. Hadiza Umar MNIPR, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations.
According to her, “NITDA has saved the Federal Government the sum of 3billion Naira on a single cleared IT Project of an Agency through its commitment as the government’s clearinghouse for all IT procurement and services in the public.
The Agency disclosed that amid growing concerns over mismanagement of huge funds on investment on IT projects in MDAs, NITDA has offered a glimmer of hope, saying that henceforth, the FG shall be getting a handle on wasteful and duplicative IT procurement and services in the MDAs.
She added: “Amid growing concerns about the mismanagement of huge investment of public funds on IT Projects in MDAs, NITDA has offered a glimmer of hope that the Federal Government shall be getting a handle on wasteful and duplicative IT procurement and services in MDAs.
“As an unbiased watchdog of government, the Director General has ensured that there is transparency, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in the process of obtaining clearance from NITDA targeted at extracting maximum value from MDAs’ investments on IT projects.”
The Agency stated that it is only carrying out the President’s directives on strict compliance on IT Projects Clearance by all government establishments.
The agency further disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari, had called for strict compliance to the IT Project’s Clearance directive by all government establishments to ensure that governments ICT procurements are transparent, align with government’s IT shared vision and policy, save costs through promotion of shared services, avoid duplication, ensure interoperability of IT systems and improve efficiency across government.
She stated that “enforcing the patronage of indigenous companies where capacity exist thus fostering digital economy through effective regulation and local content development as well as uphold the highest standards for service delivery.”
The agency quoted the President to have made the declaration at the opening ceremony of this year’s e-Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition held from Tuesday 7th to Thursday 9th November, 2017. She said that the president used the event to commend the agency’s efforts at enforcing federal government’s directive on ensuring that all ICT projects are cleared before they are implemented.
