The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is reasserting its mandate as the clearing house for all government Information Technology (IT) projects as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. To solidify this control, the agency recently took its campaign to the offices of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), the Auditor General of the Federation, and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
The focus of these high-level visits was the presentation of NITDA’s Reviewed IT Project Clearance Guidance Document, an updated framework designed to eliminate corruption, prevent duplication, and ensure that Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) execute projects with cost-effectiveness and transparency.
NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, emphasized the urgent need for intentional, focused implementation of IT projects, decrying that “56 percent [of] IT projects failed to deliver on what were promised”—often due to a preference for the latest technology, a failure to design before building, and a lack of focus on the business value proposition.
Inuwa warned that previous practices, where contractors designed, implemented, and operated projects based solely on their proposals, led to a lack of accountability and high failure rates.
“We are building a digitized government service; and government is one,” he said. “If we continue to design and implement in silos, they will never work together.”
The reviewed guideline is designed to safeguard against this by mandating:
- Interoperability: Ensuring all IT projects are designed to work together, encouraging FPIs to explore shared services.
- Standardization: Guiding FPIs on how to design, operate, and maintain systems with a focus on people and processes, not just technology.
- Contractor Accountability: Requiring contractors to secure licenses and certified employees for the Solution Design, Implementation, and Quality Assurance phases before government IT projects can be awarded.
Collaboration with Financial and Procurement Gatekeepers
The visit garnered strong support from key financial and procurement bodies:
- Accountant General of the Federation (AGF): Shamseldeen Ogunjimi commended NITDA’s standardization efforts and expressed readiness to integrate the new clearance guidelines into the AGF’s financial processes. This collaboration will ensure that the AGF’s financial oversight aligns with the vision of a digitally transformed public sector.
- Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP): Director General Dr. Adebowale Adedokun stressed the significance of standardizing IT Bidding Documents, noting that intangible project components are often leveraged to “siphon public funds.” He revealed the BPP has developed a standard bidding document for IT procurement but relies on NITDA’s expertise. Dr. Adedokun tasked NITDA to help develop a template for IT Price Intelligence and reconsider service-wide procurement of major licenses (like Microsoft and Oracle) to save costs. Both agencies agreed to form a working committee to implement the plan.
- Auditor General of the Federation: Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira assured NITDA that his office will conduct a performance audit once the new policy becomes operational to assess its effectiveness in bettering the country.
NITDA noted that since the initial guideline was unveiled in 2018, the agency has already saved the country over ₦300 billion in its effort to clear IT projects, underscoring the necessity of its expanded mandate.