National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) yesterday said the Federal Government saves over N296billion annually through the implementation of Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and Treasury Single Account by Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, Director General of NITDA, who revealed this in Abuja at the Stakeholders’ Engagement on Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF), said the Federal Government saves N240billion annually through the implementation of IPPIS.
He held that Nigeria also saves N56.4billion annually through the implementation of TSA.
According to him, “Nigeria as a developing country has her own share of good experience of e-Government or ICT adoption for streamlining and improving governance.
“Such good initiatives where Nigeria has recorded success in using ICT to drive government policies include Treasury Single Account (TSA), Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Government Information Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Bank Verification Number (BVN), e-Taxation, e-passport, e-wallet for farmers among others.
“The implementation of TSA and IPPIS/BVN saves Nigeria N4.7 Billion and N20 Billion respectively every month and assist in the elimination of ghost workers in various MDAs.”
He underscored the need for MDAs to have Nigerian e-Government Interoperability Framework, adding that it would make government transactions to be more transparent, accountable, efficient and time-saving.
“It is an obvious fact that applying information technology (IT) for governance holds tremendous potential to improve the way governments deliver public services.
“It is worthy to note that seamless exchange of Information between various MDAs’ IT infrastructure and applications is critical to cross-portfolio service delivery and public service transformation.
“NITDA is committed to change the narrative by working closely with stakeholders to remove existing barriers caused by silo deployment of IT solutions. The barriers have made information sharing a nightmare among MDAs.
“e-Government and ICT tools can among other things, cut down the cost of governance, improve national economic growth; enhance access and quality of services as well as render public agencies more transparent and accountable.
“Accordingly, at this information age, going digital for any government is the optimal route to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he explained.
Therefore, he tasked Heads of IT Units in MDAs, who were at the event, to own the project and contribute significantly to its success.
He said: “We implore you to own the Framework and ensure its smooth implementation and compliance. Developing the Framework is one thing, compliance and implementation is another.
“If we all believe that Interoperability Framework is essential for Government Digital Transformation in Nigeria, I implore us to put resources together for its implementation.
“It requires strong political and leadership will by MDAs and collective commitment by all stakeholders in the Public and Private sectors.
“The Ne-GIF provides tools, specifications and recommendations that are based on Standards for supporting MDAs in undertaking interoperability of e-government solutions for the provision of cross-portfolio services.”
