The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says 56 per cent of IT projects in Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) failed, urging strict compliance with IT project clearance guidelines.

The guidelines are meant to ensure a coordinated, standardised and orderly approach to the deployment of Information Technology (IT) systems by Public Institutions (PIs).

Hadiza Umar, director of Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NITDA, said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday.

She quoted the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, as saying this during a visit to the offices of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Auditor General of the Federation.

Mr Inuwa, who also visited the Bureau of Procurement (BPP), was sensitising the organisations on the need for FPIs to comply with IT project guidelines.

He said that IT projects failed because Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) did not comply with clearing their IT projects to deliver on achieving the digital economy.

He reiterated that NITDA’s Act 2007 mandated FPIs to obtain clearance for the implementation of their IT projects

The visits focused on the presentation of NITDA’s Reviewed IT Project Clearance Guidance Document.

It is an updated framework designed to standardise planning, funding and execution of IT projects in line with national digital economy goals.

Mr Umar also quoted Adebowale Adedokun, D-G of BPP, as stating the significance of standardising IT Project Bidding Documents, and alleged that some organisations use IT projects to siphon public funds.

Mr Adedokun said his experience had shown that MDAs presented IT projects that were adopted without standardisation and guidelines.

“With this new guideline, our decision should pave ways for the development of the IT sector of the country.”

“Most IT project component is intangible and officials leverage them to siphon public funds, and for that, BPP has developed a standard bidding document for IT procurement.

“We have a huge responsibility with NITDA to avoid corruption, duplication of IT projects, and ensure transparency and accountability in the award of IT projects for the FPIs.

“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,” he said.

He urged NITDA to reconsider service-wide procurement of licenses from organisations such as Microsoft, Oracle as well as develop a template for IT Price Intelligence.

On his part, the Auditor General of the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor, said his office would conduct performance assessments on how operationalisation of the IT clearance guidelines had impacted the economy.

Similarly, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, commended NITDA’s efforts to standardise IT project implementation.

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

It would be recalled that in 2018, NITDA unveiled the Guideline for IT Project Clearance.

(NAN)