NITDA, EFCC partners to tackle IT procurement racketeers in MDAs
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) have form a pact to wage anti-corruption war against racketeers in the procurement of Information Technology, (IT) products and service among the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the director general of NITDA, disclosed this when he led the management team of the Agency, recently on a working visit to EFCC Headquarter in Abuja.
Pantami said that the partnership has become imperative in the face of the wanton corruption being perpetrated by MDAs especially in the procurement of IT products and services.
According to him, most of the projects pass through less scrutiny during budget defense at National Assembly because of the expertise required to ascertain the needs and specifications of these IT requirements.
“Many MDAs consider IT projects as conduit pipes to siphon public funds and I believe partnering with EFCC will bring sanity to the sector and by then the commission will be empowering NITDA in strengthening its regulatory function through which it will also be developing and promoting the local content in the IT sector,” the DG NITDA said.
Commenting on the modus operandi of the partnership, Dr Pantami said that the two organisations could form a working group which would also serve as a desk to deal with sharp practices in the IT procurement, noting that “EFCC may help in asking MDAs to produce procurement clearance issued by NITDA during their investigations.”
He explained that NITDA as IT regulatory body in the country is responsible for subjecting IT product to value-for-money analysis, reduce projects duplication, justify the spending of public funds on IT projects and to advise MDAs on the alternative options of IT products and service with a view of reducing cost especially on sharing of software among themselves.
The DG who believed that the alliance would strengthen the existing relationship between the Agency and the Commission said “supporting NITDA would go a long way in blocking loopholes in IT procurements.”
The DG NITDA commended the EFCC’s Acting chairman for his outstanding performance which he has recorded in acting capacity saying the feat could take some people 20 years to achieve as substantive chairman of the commission.
In his remarks, Mr Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of the EFCC, expressed his delight over the visit , adding that Commission “would be complying with NITDA’s request so as to bring some level of sanity to the procurement of IT products and services among MDAs in Nigeria.
He emphasized that the partnership is timely especially now that the Commission is on the process of “completely digitalizing the operation of EFCC”, noting that he now has place in NITDA to run to when he gets confuse on IT projects under investigations.
He described corruption as a threat to the unity of Nigeria and pleaded to Nigerians not to be discouraged on the recent corruption case judgments delivered recently.
The two organisations agreed to constitute a working group and the desk by nominating three officials each, with the term of reference of verifying the IT products and services to be procured with public funds.
