President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said about N24.7 billion was being saved monthly as a result of the implementation of Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) scheme, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and the Bank Verification Number (BVN), among other measures.
He siad the administration was serious about the fight against corruption, considering the giant strides it had recorded and the huge sums of money recovered and saved for investment in infrastructure and other sectors of the economy.
Buhari, who spoke while declaring open the 2018 edition of the e-Nigerian Conference at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, said recently about N1.6 billion was recovered from one single account through the TSA.
“These policy initiatives reinforce this administration’s fight against corruption by ensuring transparency and accountability in government business transactions,”Buhari said on the occasion which was attended by the Ministers of FCT, Justice, Sports, Communications, Works, Housing and Power as well as Service Chiefs and other top government officials.
Buhari said he issued Executive Order 003 and 005 to ensure that government agencies patronised locally manufactured ICT products and ensure strong commitment at strengthening the role of science and technological innovations in the development of the country.
Buhari commended NITDA for chatting the road-map for economic diversification from oil and gas to a knowledge-based economy through information and communication technology (ICT).
He said NITDA is expected to work with all relevant government agencies to ensure full compliance with the directive which are expected to strengthen the regulatory roles of NITDA and ensure compliance, stating that defaulters of IT Clearance among the public establishments are to be reported to government.
He said: “We are serious about fighting corruption. We must not fail in our quest to eliminate corruption in government businesses and in the wider society.
“The success of this administration’s Social Investment Programme (SIP), tagged as the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in our recent history, relies heavily on the application of ICT.
“Components of programmes such as the N-Power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) all leverage on ICT. This programme has so far benefited over 9 million Nigerians.
“Furthermore, NITDA, in collaboration with the National Social Investment Office (NSIO), is coordinating Federal Government’s initiative of establishing eight Innovation Hubs, one in each of the six geo-political zones and one each in Lagos and Abuja.
“The purpose of establishing these hubs is to facilitate digital capacity building for immediate employment, entrepreneurial skills development, job and wealth creation. All these are aimed at promoting the digital economy in an era of disruptive technology through effective regulations.”
He described the theme of the conference: Promoting Digital Economy in an Era of Disruptive Technologies Through Effective Regulations as apt, noting that it would build on the previous year’s conference anchored on fostering the digital economy through local content development.
The conference was organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), headed by Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.