President Muhammadu Buhari says
his government’s leveraging on Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
and the enforcement of Bank Verification Number (BVN) has saved the nation of
N24.7 billion monthly.
The president said this when he
declared open the 2017 eNigeria Conference, organised by National Information
Technology Development Agency (NITDA) at the International Conference Centre,
Abuja, on Tuesday.
The president also said the implementation
of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and Bank
Verification Number (BVN) had eliminated ghost workers and reduced waste,
thereby saving the nation N20 billion monthly.
He said that the consolidation of
20,000 accounts had saved the nation N4.7 billion.
According to him, the TSA policy
has also facilitated transparency, accountability and ease of transactions and
payments between government and businesses as well as government and citizens.
“We have done a lot to transform
our government, especially in the areas of strategy, policies and digital
infrastructure investments.
“You may recall that on
assumption of office, we enforced the policy on Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Today, we are all witnesses to the impact it has made on our financial
management.
“We have so far consolidated over
20,000 accounts, resulting into about N4.7 billion monthly savings.
“In addition, the policy
facilitated transparency, accountability and ease of transactions and payments
between government and businesses as well as government and citizens.
“Another initiative leveraging on
ICT and making huge impact on the economy is the introduction of the Integrated
Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and Bank Verification Number
(BVN).
“Its implementation has helped to
eliminate the menace of ghost workers, thereby reducing waste in the system by
saving government over N20 billion monthly.”
President Buhari described his
presence at the event as a demonstration of his commitment and strong belief in
using ICT as a major driver of developmental governance and economic reform
plans aimed at bringing about the true CHANGE his administration promised
Nigerians.
According to him, ICT is
strategic in driving productivity and efficiency in all sectors of the economy.
He noted that currently, almost
all sectors of the nation’s economy leverage on ICT to increase efficiency,
productivity and performance.
President Buhari commended
NITDA’s efforts on fostering the patronage of indigenous IT products and
services through continuous engagement with indigenous OEMs, relevant
stakeholders and other laudable initiatives.
He observed that ICT played a
pivotal role with agencies of government such as the Corporate Affairs
Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria
Immigration Service (NIS).
He stated that the affected
agencies had leaned on ICT in improving public service delivery in an efficient
and transparent manner.
“So far, 31 reforms have been
completed by the council and these reforms are already making noticeable impact
on our economic diversification efforts.
“The Agency’s efforts at
enforcing Federal Government’s directive on ensuring that all ICT projects in
the country are cleared by it before implementation are highly commendable.
“These efforts will ensure that
government’s ICT procurement is transparent.
“It is aligned with government’s
IT-shared vision and policy, save costs through promotion of shared services,
avoid duplication, ensure compatibility of IT systems, thereby improving
efficiency across government and enforce the patronage of indigenous
companies.’’
The president expressed the hope
that the conference would come up with practical, viable solutions and
recommendations to further develop local content in ICT as well as how it could
best regulate the deployment and use of ICT systems to foster a digital economy
in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the president used the opportunity of the conference to express
displeasure over refusal of some heads of government’s ministries, agencies and
departments to wear the Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem.
He noted that very few of
dignitaries at the conference wore the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day
emblem, which he inaugurated on Wednesday.
He urged all heads of ministries,
departments and agencies to wear the emblem with pride, to encourage the legionnaires
as well as families of those who paid the supreme price for the unity of the
nation.
Mr. Buhari said the emblem launch
was a worthy tradition of recognizing and appreciating the sacrifices of the
veterans in the First and Second World Wars, Nigerian Civil War and Peace
Support Operations around the world.
The three-day conference has as
theme: “Fostering Digital Economy through Local Content Development and
Effective Regulations.” (NAN)
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