NITDA Moves Against 125 MDAs’ Over Unapproved IT Projects
The National Information Technology Development Agency has initiated enforcement action against 125 ministries, departments and agencies for failing to obtain authorisation before embarking on information technology projects.
The concerned MDAs also violated provisions of the Regulatory Framework for Promotion of Local Content in IT in line with Executive Orders 003 and 005.
Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, disclosed these in a statement which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement did not name the concerned MDAs but it said the police had begun investigation into the matter, and heads of the institutions would be held liable.
The Federal Government had, through a circular with Ref No. 59736/S.2/C.II/125, issued on August 31, 2018, directed all MDAs to clear all IT projects with NITDA before implementation, and to comply with the Regulatory Framework for Promotion of Local Content in IT.
The statement noted that President Muhammadu Buhari had restated the directive at the recently concluded e-Nigeria conference.
“To underscore government’s determination at ensuring compliance with these regulatory instruments, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his directive that NITDA is to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that all government funded ICT projects are reviewed and cleared by the agency before implementation,” the statement said.
NITDA had issued two regulatory instruments for the Promotion of Indigenous Content Development in ICT and the Guidelines for Clearance of Information Technology Projects by Public Institutions.
The regulatory instruments were issued pursuant to section 6 (a) (b) (c) of the NITDA Act 2007, and violation of the guidelines constitute an offence pursuant to section 17(4) of the Act and punishable under section 18 of the same Act.
The statement further disclosed that NITDA had referred the matter to the Nigeria Police Force for appropriate investigation and prosecution in line with the extant law.
