The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have announced the creation of a Joint Task Force on Digital Governance and Anti-Corruption. This collaborative effort aimed to tackle corruption risks associated with government IT projects, strengthen enforcement of the IT Project Clearance mandate, and ensure that technology becomes a tool for service delivery.
The decision to establish the Joint Task Force was made during a high-level courtesy call by the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, to the ICPC Chairman at the ICPC Headquarters in Abuja.
This development underscored the determination of both agencies to align their mandates in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his directive to build a $1 trillion economy, powered by digital transformation, ease of doing business, and elimination of corruption.
Over the past two decades, billions of naira have been lost to either failed or abandoned government IT projects. Many Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) have procured technological solutions without proper clearance, leading to duplication of efforts, inflated costs, weak technical standards, and in many cases, total project failure. The NITDA IT Project Clearance process was designed to address these risks by ensuring that government IT projects are properly vetted, aligned with national standards, interoperable, and provide value for money.
The Joint Task Force will serve as an enforcement mechanism, combining NITDA’s technical oversight role with ICPC’s investigative and prosecutorial powers. It will ensure that all FPIs obtain mandatory IT Project Clearance before embarking on technology projects, jointly monitor IT projects, and sanction defaulting FPIs. By embedding NITDA’s monitoring instruments into ICPC frameworks, the task force will institutionalize compliance and promote transparency in government IT projects.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, stressed the importance of IT Project Clearance as a national safeguard, designed to track government spending in IT, ensure synergy in national investments in IT, and prevent development of projects in silos.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, welcomed the collaboration, noting that corruption in IT procurement undermines both public trust and economic progress.
The establishment of the Joint Task Force represented a decisive step toward addressing systemic corruption risks in government IT projects. The initiative will ensure that Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts deliver real value to citizens and support the President’s vision of a modern, transparent, and competitive economy.
