Ag. Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi has posited that the utilization of Information Technology in the Public Service is the Bedrock for National survival and development in a rapidly changing global environment. He made the statement at the BPSR Lunch Time Reforms Seminar held recently in Abuja with the theme: “The Need for Active Engagement of Public Institutions on IT Regulatory Instruments in Nigeria”.

Arabi said that for Nigeria to address a host of issues such as reliable infrastructure, skilled human resource, open government and other crucial issues that border on capacity building, it must embrace Information Technology (IT) in all its ramifications to fast track national socio-economic development. Speaking further, he said the sustainability of the Public Service of any country depends largely on IT to succeed and deliver a world-class result in a global context.

The Head of the Bureau said although IT compliance is crucial to development, there is also dire need to uphold the role of the regulatory agency in Nigeria.He said the National Information Technology Development Agency, a Regulatory Body established by the NITDA Act of 2007, derived its powers to Develop and Regulate Information Technology in Nigeria as its core mandate.

According to him the ‘Five IT Regulatory Instruments of NITDA are: Rule-Making Process of NITDA; Data Protection Regulation of Nigeria; the Guidelines for clearance of IT Practices; Framework and Guidelines for Public Internet Access; Framework and Guidelines for the use of Social Media Platform. Mr. Arabi expressed hope that these five instruments would help to deepen IT practice and enable local manufacturers of IT equipment and software developers to have an edge over their foreign counterparts in area of patronage. The importance of the instruments can be linked to the provisions of the Executive Order-005 which involves Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology.

To further strengthen Nigeria’s Public Institutions, the Ag. DG informed that the BPSR in line with its mandate collaborated with NITDA, Galaxy Backbone and other government agencies, and developed a scorecard template which was used to rank the proficiency of MDAs’ websites. The essence is to ensure that their websites meet global standards that would enhance the ease of doing business in Nigeria as stipulated by Executive Order-001.

In his presentation, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami reiterated that no nation can attain enviable socio-economic development without embracing Information Technology in its Public Service. He illustrated the workings of the application of IT in the Public Service as employed by some countries of the world, he pointed out that Denmark in 2017 achieved 99% success and was ranked as the best in IT global compliance in its Public Service which resulted in huge foreign investment flow into its business environment. He said Nigeria could equally attain such results by digitalization, if all hands are on deck.

According to him, ‘Nigerian success story could be viewed in the actualization of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the Treasury Single Account (TSA), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) which have saved for the Federal Government billions of naira’.

In line with its regulatory role, the DG NITDA enjoined all MDAs to ensure compliance with the Federal government circular reference no (SGF.6/S19/T/65) of 18/6/2006 which mandates all MDAs to submit their IT projects for scrutiny and clearance by NITDA before execution.

He further disclosed that NITDA regulates the IT space to motivate and make better the services of government offices unlike the wrong assumption that it is there to punish or shut down their practice. He further stressed that NITDA has recorded tremendous achievements by sanitizing the Nigerian cyberspace and prevented it from being a dumping ground.

Deputy Director/ Head (Strategic Communication)

Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR).