Executive Order on Support for Local Content in IT Procurement: NITDA Sets To Facilitate Compliance Of MDA's

With the recent Executive Order on support for local content in IT procurement which was recently issued, the management of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has drawn the attention of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), that the Agency has put measures in place to facilitate compliance.


In a statement issued by the Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations of NITDA, Hadiza Umar, the agency stated that, in  compliance with the recent Executive Order no 003 "Support for Local Content in Procurement by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Federal Government of Nigeria", signed by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday 18th May, 2017, NITDA has embarked on strengthening its strategy to foster patronage of  indigenous IT products and services.

Read Also: Sani Sidi Resumes as EU Africa's Regional Coordinator on Disaster Management.

The statement, which was signed by the Director General/CEO of NITDA, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, reveals that its strategy focuses on two tracks:

* Make Nigerian IT products viable;  and
Promote local content first policy in IT procurement by MDAs.

According to the NITDA CEO, in its effort to make Nigerian IT products viable and competitive, NITDA has invested in:

Building IT hubs, incubation and acceleration centers in the country;
Partnering with private IT hubs to identify and accelerate innovative IT solutions; Crafting policies and guidelines that make Nigerian environment conducive for IT business;

Building hardware and software testing labs to certify IT products before going to market; and
Empowering the two subsidiaries of the Agency, the Office for Nigerian Content in IT (ONC) and the Office for IT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), to synergize the IT ecosystem as well as develop a vibrant and world class indigenous IT industry Nigeria.    

Furthermore, in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive that MDAs and all other institutions of the Federal Government planning to embark on IT projects must obtain clearance from NITDA, the Agency has assembled a team of experts charged with supporting MDAs with advice and guidance throughout the IT procurement process, Dr. Ibrahim said.

This is aimed at mitigating waste and mismanagement of government funds as well as ensuring that procurement of goods and services are in line with the national development goals. He explained.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), according to Isa Ali Ibrahim, is an Agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications established in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country.

Specifically, Section 6(l) of the Act mandates NITDA to render advisory services in all information technology matters to the public and private sectors.

We therefore call on MDAs and other stakeholders in the IT sector to support the Agency in this strategy so as to help boost the local IT industry, create new markets as well as deepen existing ones, and accelerate information technology penetration and adoption in all Government services in Nigeria for better service delivery.

Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FBCS
Director General/CEO
National Information Technology Development Agency