The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Thursday said that it raked in about N13 billion into the Federation Account through the implementation of its IT clearance policy which was flagged off two years ago.
The Director General of the agency, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, while making the disclosure during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, disclosed that the IT clearance policy had saved cost for government and enhanced transparency in the procurement of government IT infrastructure and services.
Pantami, who highlighted some of the achievements recorded by the management of the agency since he took over the leadership, explained that the agency realized that IT sector needed to be regulated and that promoting the local content cannot be achieved unless the IT sector was properly regulated.
He said: “The IT clearance has saved Nigeria huge amount of money. NITDA was able to save N13 billion for the Federal Government.
“Overpricing and inclusion of components not necessary in IT projects and procurement has been the bane of the public sector and a means of siphoning public funds by public officers”, the industry expert added.
Describing the NITDA as the IT clearing house for Nigeria, Pantami stressed that it remained a criminal offence for any MDA not to adhere to government’s order on procurement and pleaded with the media to constantly investigate IT procurement and services in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ascertain if due process had been followed or not.
He urged journalists to report any breach of government’s directive, wherever such breach may be discovered in the MDAs, to the agency for proper investigation and possible sanctions of defaulting establishments.
