NITDA: New IT Procurement Rules to Drive Local Innovation, Digital Sovereignty

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi
Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA 

"Between July 2023 and July 2026, NITDA received proposals for 1,092 IT projects from 326 Ministries, Departments and Agencies, valued at more than N4.24tn." Inuwa.

.... Identifies three major reforms being implemented by NITDA: the strengthening of the IT Project Clearance Framework, development of a Software Assurance Framework and the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative.

The National Information Technology Development Agency has unveiled fresh reforms to Nigeria’s Information Technology procurement system, aimed at boosting local software development, improving value for money and strengthening the country’s digital sovereignty.

The NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed this at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he spoke on the theme, “Nigeria First, Procurement Last: How E-commerce is Rewriting Contracts.”

Inuwa said the reforms were designed to support the Federal Government’s Nigeria First policy by ensuring that public investments in technology deliver measurable value while creating opportunities for Nigerian innovators.

He revealed that between July 2023 and July 2026, NITDA received proposals for 1,092 IT projects from 326 Ministries, Departments and Agencies, valued at more than N4.24tn.

According to him, the agency cleared 1,056 of the projects, with a combined value of N3.84tn.

The DG identified three major reforms being implemented by NITDA: the strengthening of the IT Project Clearance Framework, development of a Software Assurance Framework and the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative.

Under the revised IT Project Clearance Framework, he said MDAs would be required to have a proper solution design before making budgetary provisions for IT projects.

NITDA, he added, would certify companies providing solution design, implementation and quality assurance services, while ensuring that the three functions are not performed by the same organisation on a single project.

Drawing an analogy with the construction industry, Inuwa said IT projects should be properly designed before implementation, just as buildings require architectural designs before construction.

He said the measure would promote standardisation, accountability and better value for money in government technology investments.

On software, the DG said NITDA was developing a Software Assurance Framework to increase confidence in locally developed solutions and reduce dependence on foreign off-the-shelf software.

He noted that Nigerian organisations often spend heavily modifying foreign software to suit local needs, only to incur additional costs whenever vendors release new versions.

Inuwa said NITDA was therefore promoting local solution design, software testing, standards and assurance, including licensing software testing companies to assess locally developed solutions.

He also linked the reforms to the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative, which he said would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity for “digital self-determination.”

According to him, the initiative would strengthen the country’s digital public infrastructure and provide an environment where Nigerian innovations could be developed, hosted and scaled locally.

He said the framework would provide certification across key segments of the cloud ecosystem, including infrastructure providers, data centres, cloud service providers, system integrators and cloud aggregators, with specific requirements for sensitive and critical data.

Inuwa urged government and private-sector stakeholders to see public procurement as more than government spending, describing it as a strategic tool for shaping markets, building national capabilities and creating opportunities for local innovators.

He cited Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem as evidence of what deliberate policy and market opportunities could achieve, urging stakeholders to replicate such success in healthcare, education, agriculture and other sectors.

The NITDA boss further advised public institutions to stop over-prescribing specific technologies in procurement documents and instead clearly define the problems they want to solve, programmes to be implemented and outcomes expected.

He also tasked legal practitioners with ensuring that technology contracts adequately address data ownership, processing and storage, data portability, intellectual property, cybersecurity and contractual responsibilities.

Inuwa said greater clarity in technology contracts would strengthen the protection of public institutions and boost confidence in government technology investments.

Ultimately, he said, the reforms would position public procurement as a major driver of local innovation, digital capacity development and Nigeria’s long-term digital sovereignty.