The Federal Executive Council approved the Implementation of Strategies for the Enhancement of the Quality of Government Digital Technology Projects and Services.
In a Press Statement signed by Dr Femi Adeluy, Technical Assistant to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, stated that in a memo presented by the Minister, stated that the approval will enable the implementation of strategies for the enforcement of the Information Technology (IT) Project Clearance by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
He said the development was in accordance with the NITDA Act (2007), and under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
The Minister also stated that implementation of the IT Project Clearance process is in alignment with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria, as well as the Nigeria Government Interoperability Framework and Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture, among others.
He said the approval will ensure that there is an indigenous capacity for after-sales-service to sustain the project beyond its initial deployment, supports the integration of IT systems and services by Federal Public Institutions to save cost, reduce corruption, promote shared services, enable interoperability and improve efficiency, the projects promote indigenous content, with preference being given to indigenous companies where capacity, product or service exists among other benefits.
“The implementation of the IT Projects Clearance process has already recorded tremendous success. For example, in 2021, there was an unprecedented total of 280 new applications for clearance, of which 258 projects were successfully cleared and a total savings of ₦24,403,266,842.86, estimated at a 343.2% increase in savings compared to 2020. Furthermore, there was also a significant increase in the use of the IT Clearance Portal in the year 2021- a total of 248 new users from 52 Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) were registered on the portal.
“The approval of Council will further enhance the benefits of the IT Clearance process. Council’s approval also mandates FPIs to obtain a Quality Assurance certificate from the NITDA Regulatory Instruments Enforcement Team for any project that is up to N1,000,000,000 (one billion naira).
He noted that as part of the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), the Ministry will continue to position Nigeria to take advantage of emerging technologies in order to transform Nigeria into a sustainable and secure digital economy.
