ABUJA — The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has raised alarm over the widespread failure of technology projects across Federal Public Institutions (FPIs), revealing that more than half—56 per cent—of such initiatives failed due to non-compliance with mandated clearance procedures.
Hadiza Umar, Director of Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NITDA, made this known in a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday. The agency’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed the data during separate visits to the offices of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General of the Federation, and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), where he emphasised the importance of aligning IT projects with standardised regulatory protocols.
Inuwa explained that IT project clearance, as stipulated by NITDA’s Enabling Act of 2007, is intended to ensure consistency, accountability, and value in the implementation of public sector digital systems. However, repeated failure by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to seek clearance has led to high rates of project breakdowns and financial waste.
“IT projects failed because Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) did not comply with clearing their IT projects to deliver on achieving the digital economy,” Inuwa said.
During the engagements, NITDA presented an updated version of its IT Project Clearance Guidance Document, which outlines revised procedures for planning, financing, and executing technology initiatives within government institutions. According to the agency, the framework supports the broader goals of Nigeria’s digital economy policy and strategy.
Echoing similar concerns, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun, criticised the existing culture of non-standardised project implementation within the public sector, noting that many IT-related expenditures lack clarity and accountability.
“Most IT project components are intangible, and officials leverage them to siphon public funds,” Adedokun noted. “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.”
He further alleged that the current system had created a loophole for wasteful spending, urging NITDA to explore service-wide procurement models for enterprise software providers like Microsoft and Oracle. He also called for the development of a formal pricing template to guide IT procurement costs across MDAs.
“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,” Adedokun added.
Auditor-General of the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor, pledged to carry out performance audits to assess how the implementation of IT clearance guidelines has impacted operational efficiency and resource use across government agencies.
In the same vein, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, welcomed NITDA’s renewed efforts, describing the revised guidelines as a necessary framework for integrating IT project scrutiny into the national financial management system. He assured the agency of his office’s full cooperation in adopting the clearance mechanism.
The current version of the IT clearance framework builds upon NITDA’s original guidelines released in 2018. The new approach, the agency said, is designed to limit financial leakages, standardise public IT infrastructure, and enhance digital governance outcomes.