TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has pledged to explore and exploit all avenues in enhancing the effectiveness of its service delivery to its customers in the realisation of its statutory core value of putting People First.

Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, NITDA Director General, made this declaration when he gave an opening remark at the maiden edition of the agency’s Customer Engagement event held at the eGovernment Training Centre, Kubwa, Abuja.

The DG who was represented by the agency’s Acting Director, eGovernment Development and Regulations department, Mr. Bernard Ewah stated that getting feedback from customers on the activities of the Agency would not only help the Agency understand what the services mean to it but also help to improve on service delivery.

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“At NITDA, our mandate requires that we ensure that the public including institutions of government, individuals and businesses are able to utilise technology to further their individual and collective aspirations and to promote the wellbeing of the society”, he stated.

While laying emphasis on the Agency’s commitment to rendering excellent service delivery to its customers, Inuwa gave insights into the impact some of these services have made on the nation’s economy.

“Today, NITDA has cleared 272 projects for 70 Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) and cleared 300 projects for 81 organisations. In the process, NITDA has saved the Federal Government 10.6 Billion Naira”, he disclosed.

He noted that the ability to enhance the impact of ICT projects rank highest in the growth of the IT clearance process while stating categorically that improving the quality of services offered by the government using technology will enhance the ability of civil servants to discharge their duties efficiently as well as enhance the capacity of citizens to access government services promptly.

The NITDA also said that the registration of ICT companies is another service the Agency has been offering to citizens and mentioned that out of the 1,298 applications received by the Agency since its inception, a total of 1,168 have been registered. 

While urging customers to utilise all information provided on the Agency’s website and social media platforms, he promised the Agency’s commitment to improving its service delivery

“We have introduced new measures to improve on our services and I am delighted to inform you that these platforms are being upgraded. By the end of the first quarter next year when our platforms are fully upgraded, we would be able to address some of the areas causing delays and will begin to issue electronic certificates”, he concluded.

In her goodwill message, the National Coordinator of SERVICOM, Mrs. Nnenna Akajemeli who was represented by the Commission’s operations team lead, Mrs. Ngozi Akinbodewa expressed her satisfaction with the work done so far by NITDA.

She said service delivery cannot be effective without feedback from internal customers and external stakeholders, she said that NITDA has done incredibly well in excellent service delivery. 

“Actually, I am also your customer because I am part of those that registered for IT Clearance and I can start giving you my feedback that the portal is very interactive. You are doing a lot to ensure that services are delivered effectively at NITDA”, she stated.

While delivering her welcome address earlier, the Nodal Officer of the Agency’s SERVICOM Unit, Mrs. Tariundu Ndoni appreciated the DG for his support to the Unit in organising the engagement.

Asserting physical engagement as one of the best practices, she said that it would allow a more interactive aura where the experiences of customers regarding services rendered would be made known to the agency.

“We look forward to us being candid in our needs so that they can be evaluated and addressed to satisfy our customer’s expectations”, she added

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TECHDIGEST – The proper administration of elections contributes immensely to the growth of democracy and civic development, Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA), has said.

Inuwa stated this in Abuja while delivering a paper at a hybrid symposium of the Nigeria eGovernment Summit 2022 themed: “Promoting eGovernment in Election Year for Improved Governance”.

Represented by Mr. Bernard Ewah, the acting Director, e-Government Development and Regulation Department, the DG NITDA said, “e-voting constitutes a very important aspect of ICT-enabled democratic governance. It generally aims at increasing participation of citizens in the electoral process and improving the outcomes of elections by addressing challenges associated with traditional voting practices”.

The NITDA boss explained that the e-voting technologies support one or more of the major phases of the electoral processes from the registration stage in the pre-voting phase to voting, balloting and verification to counting or tallying after voting.

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Inuwa asserted that e-governance has become an important mechanism in enhancing citizens’ participation, monitoring and evaluating government projects, ensuring government accountability and transparency as well as transferring information from one sector to another. “e-government has transformed Nigeria into a world-class economy and has restructured our electoral and other government processes” he added.

He said, “Participatory democracy is one of the major requirements for achieving e-governance, particularly, where majority of the citizenry is disenchanted with the electioneering or democratic processes or government. For successful adoption of e-voting and e-government, grassroots mobilization through e-democracy should be encouraged.”

He disclosed that NITDA has an e-Government Master Plan that promotes the use of e-government at sub-national and grassroots, adding that, so far, Plateau, Benue, Jigawa, Ogun and Nasarawa states have benefited from this initiative.

Inuwa, while asserting that a unique feature of e-Governance in an election year is the increasing use of private or non-state infrastructure, noted that a lot of Nigerians are utilising personal devices and private networks to disseminate information relating to the forthcoming general election.

“As such, the role of government is to ensure that non-state actors including individuals and private businesses act responsibly and uphold the common interest of the Nigerian sovereignty.”

NITDA boss further stated that the adoption of electronic voting and transmission of results has the potential to drastically reduce the prospect of electoral violence because as long as the polling centers are well secured, political thugs will have little or no influence over proceedings as the results could be transmitted within minutes to the collation center.

He concluded that as the 2023 general elections draws nearer, electronic voting would play a paramount role.

He said, “E-voting is becoming a standard in electoral processes around the world, and Nigeria is poised to improve its ranking on the global e-governance index as well as toe the line of countries like Estonia, Brazil, India, Philippines and Australia who have all introduced e-voting at various levels in their political systems.”

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