The digital watchdogs of the federal government, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has opened up on how MDAs were able to use the procurement of the IT products and services to perpetuate fraud because most of the projects passed through less scrutiny during budget defence at the National Assembly.
During a recent visit to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Director-General of the agency, Dr. Isah Ibrahim, noted that the MDAs were relying on the poor knowledge of lawmakers on cost analysis of IT materials which can only be decoded by industry expert to overrun budget hearing only to defraud federal government during budget implementation.
Otherwise, the crime has been scaling through because the expertise required to ascertain the needs and specifications of the IT requirements is not available during budget defense.
He explained that the Act establishing NITDA empowered it to subject the IT procurement to value-for-money analysis, reduce projects duplication, justify the spending of public funds on the IT projects and to advise the MDAs on the alternative options of the IT products and services with a view to reducing cost, especially on the sharing of software among the MDAs.
Though it was clear if NITDA had established cases of related infractions by MDAs, the DG said during the visit that “Many of the MDAs consider the IT projects as conduit pipes to siphon public funds and I believe partnering the EFCC will bring sanity to the sector and by then the commission will be empowering the NITDA in strengthening its regulatory function through which it will also be developing and promoting local content in the IT sector”.
“The EFCC may help in asking the MDAs to produce procurement clearance issued by the NITDA during their investigations. Supporting the NITDA will go a long way in blocking loopholes in the IT procurement.
According to him, both NITDA and EFCC could form a working group, which would also serve as a desk to deal with sharp practices in the IT procurement.
