NITDA stresses significance of IT projects clearance at AGoF, BPP, others

*The National Information Technology Development Agency says its revised ‘Guidelines for Clearance of IT Projects’ emphasises cost-effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and transparency, reaffirming the regulatory agency’s mandate as ‘the clearing house’ for all Nigerian Government’s IT initiatives and programmes

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has intensified its ongoing campaign regarding the importance of scrutinising Information Technology (IT) projects of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s institutions to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGoF), and Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

ConsumerConnect reports NITDA said the effort is in accordance with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda to enhance governance for effective service delivery.

Malam Abdullahi (r) and Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, Accountant-General of the Federation

The IT sector regulatory agency also noted the move has reaffirmed its mandate as “the clearing house” for all government Information Technology projects in the country.

NITDA further explained the visits to the sister regulatory agencies focused on the presentation of its Reviewed IT Project Clearance Guidance Document—an updated framework designed to standardise the planning, funding, and execution of IT projects in line with national digital economy goals.

According to the agency, the document is a revision of the “2018 Guidelines for Clearance of IT Projects”.

It emphasises cost-effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and transparency, reinforcing NITDA’s role as the clearing house for all government IT initiatives under the National Information Technology Development Act (2007), the agency stated.

During the recent visits, NITDA disclosed Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General, especially emphasised the agency could not work in isolation to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of transforming the economy digitally.

Inuwa stated: “And we need to explore how we can strengthen our partnerships and collaborations in line with the President’s agenda.”

The NITDA Chief Executive also mentioned the need for industry stakeholders to be more focused and intentional in the implementation of IT projects, if Nigeria desires to maintain its leading position in Africa.

He further explained: “56 percent IT projects failed to deliver on what were promised because we go for latest technology, and failure to design before building the technology and lack of consideration for the business value proposition we are trying to deliver with the projects.”

Inuwa as well told his hosts that in order to guard against this scenario, NITDA has reviewed the IT Clearance Guideline because experience has shown that most government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) build IT projects based on the proposal submitted to them by the contractors.

He opined that such contractors usually design the projects, implement them, and operate them, noting the process gives no room for accountability and transparency.

That has led to the failure of many IT projects in Nigeria, he lamented.

The Director-General averred: “We are building a digitised government service; and government is one.

“We need to work together, work harmoniously, the same way IT system works to deliver these services.”

He stated: “For us to achieve this, we need to be more intentional in the way we design, and implement.

“And if we continue to design and implement in silos, they will never work together.”

Inuwa maintained that the idea behind the reviewed guideline is to ensure that IT projects are designed in line in line with the mindset of interoperability in order for Ministries Departments and Agencies, to explore shared services and follow the best practices and standards.

“The guideline will guide MDAs on how to design, operate and how to maintain system because building of these systems is beyond technology but people, processes and key components of that are paramount,” stated he.

3 Steps to successful IT projects implementation, by Inuwa

Underscoring the significance of successful IT protect implementation, the Director-General of NITDA highlighted the proposed guideline has three steps of IT projects implementation.

He listed these as the Solution Design, the Implementation, and Quality Assurance steps.

Going forward, Inuwa said contractors are required to get a licence and certified employees on these three steps for their companies before government’s IT projects could be awarded to them.

He equally noted: “These measures are designed to eliminate corruption, prevent duplication, and ensure that government IT initiatives are structured to create meaningful change—fostering efficiency, equity, and fairness in public service.”

Why organisations misuse IT projects to siphon public funds: BPP Director-General

As the NITDA team reached the Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of BPP stressed the significance of standardising IT Project Bidding Documents in the West African country.

Dr. Adedokun remarked: “It is disheartening that organisations misuse IT projects to siphon public funds—resources that could otherwise be channelled into impactful initiatives that can transform Nigeria.

The Director-General of BPP also disclosed that MDAs come with IT projects that were adopted without standardisation and guideline.

He stated “but with this new guideline our decision should pave ways for the development of the IT sector of the country.”

Describing the meeting with NITDA as crucial to eradicate corruption in the implementation of IT projects, Adedokun alleged that because most IT projects component are intangible, some officials leverage them to siphon public funds.

The Bureau has developed a standard bidding document for the IT procurement, he said.

The BPP Chief further stated: “We have huge responsibility with NITDA to avoid corruption, duplication of IT projects and ensure transparency, accountability in the award of IT projects for the Federal Public Institutions.

“It is disheartening that we are consuming resources that can be deployed to meet other needs of the country and we need to stop this and say no to wastage.”

Adedokun, therefore, tasked NITDA on reconsidering service-wide procurement of licences of organisations, such as Microsoft, Oracle, and others.

He asked the IT sector regulator also to develop a template for IT Price Intelligence which the Bureau can rely on for costing.

He noted: “We are not IT experts, if NITDA can help us with data on the prices of IT related products which can serve as benchmark for pricing, it will go a long way in our review.

Dr. Adedokun equally canvassed for capacity building for the government’s staff in the IT cadre, so they would not be outsmarted by contractors.

Working committee to fine-tune MoU between NITDA, BPP

It is noted both NITDA and BPP agreed to constitute a working committee that would work out modalities for the realisation of the entire intended plan, and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on its implementation.

At the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, Auditor-General of the Federation, remarked that NITDA needs to be commended for its thoughtfulness in bringing the guideline forward for review and stakeholder inputs.

Chira assured that once the policy becomes operational, the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation would conduct a performance audit to assess whether it is effectively contributing to the betterment of the country.

IT Project Clearance guideline saves Nigeria N300bn

Similarly, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, Nigeria’s Accountant-General, commended NITDA’s efforts at standardising IT project implementation.

Ogunjimi expressed the readiness of its agency to support the integration of the clearance guidelines into financial processes.

By presenting the Reviewed IT Project Clearance Guidance Document, NITDA aims to ensure that the AGF’s financial oversight aligns with its vision of a digitally transformed public sector, the agency noted.

NITDA restated that collaboration is expected to enhance service delivery, curb inefficiencies, and position Nigeria as a leader in technology-driven governance.

It is recalled that NITDA, in 2018, unveiled the Guideline for IT Project Clearance and the Agency has been able to save over N300 billion for the country in its effort at clearing IT projects.

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