FG saved over N22.45bn from IT clearance

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said over N22.45 billion was saved for the Federal Government through Information Technology (IT) clearance for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) of government.

NITDA’s Director-General, Malam Kashifu Abdullahi, dropped the hint in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the Agency at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora Abuja.

Kashifu said 72 Data Protection Compliance Organisations were licensed by the agency to ensure the integrity of Data Protection Regulations were not compromised in any way while the agency continued to carry out its regulatory mandate without fear or favour.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, said over N2 billion was saved from a single project through IT clearance for MDAs by NITDA.

Pantami said the agency had been in the forefront of the fight against corruption since the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari Administration.

NITDA, he said, had through its IT clearance put government agencies on the right pedestal to save the cost of IT projects and ensure quality services are delivered to the government.

Pantami said the agency had several reasons to celebrate its 20th anniversary going by the numbers of Nigerians that have benefited from its overseas scholarships and those trained at home on digital skills acquisition as well as the implementation of the Data Protection policy of the government.

He praised NITDA for its high level of integrity in the process of obtaining IT Clearance, saying it was heartwarming that the Agency refused to be compromised.