By Emmanuel Elebeke

ABUJA—Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, has said that about $2 billion was being expended on information technology, IT projects on annual basis in Nigeria.

Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami

Pantami also disclosed that the immediate plan of the agency was to automate the IT clearance process to make IT more robust and efficient across all public and private establishments in the country.

Speaking, Tuesday, at the stakeholders’ engagement and portal sensitization workshop for information technology (IT) projects clearance Portal and draft guidelines organised by NITDA in Abuja.

He said “About $2billion is being expended on IT projects on annual basis in Nigeria. The apparent disparity between increasing budgetary allocation and expenditures on IT projects and services and the insignificant increase in automation of public services call for concern.

“The need for proper co-ordination can therefore, not be over-emphasised. Hence, the major step taken by NITDA to  properly address this is the IT projects clearance initiative in MDAs.

“Our initial findings showed that many IT projects were riddled with poor conceptualization  without clear sustainability plans. Many IT projects were being done in silos, thereby leading to duplication, waste and redundancies.  MDAs were embarking on projects that ‘sounded good’ based on  contractor’s pitch rather than expressed need and priorities of the MDAs and IT was increasingly becoming a conduit pipe to siphon huge public resources.”