By The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has said that the automation of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) will step-up the fight against corruption to a large extent in the country.
According to the Director General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, automation is a journey and not a one off process saying that the Agency is ready to collaborate with ICPC in order to aid the digitisation of its services and monitoring corrupt practices in public institutions.
Inuwa made this known during a Courtesy Visit on him by members of staff of the Commission, led by the Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, said, “We have over two hundred and ninety-three processes to automate but we are selecting them one after the other to achieve the goal of the Agency”.
He said: “We do this for other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) also, we have other initiatives in place to help them achieve digital transformation.”
Inuwa disclosed that NITDA has a technical Working Group which started about three years ago, and saddled with the task of training representatives from different MDAs who are later asked to nominate people that will become champions to promote digital transformation in their respective organisations.
“Moreso, we help some MDAs through the journey, like two years ago, Shippers Council came to us, we helped them with trainings, they documented their processes and have started automation. Also, we are currently working with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI)”, the DG said.
Inuwa, while maintaining that corruption happens when there is a human contact, added that technology can help eliminate that.
“I believe if we can digitise government’s services, it will really address the corruption challenges we have in the country”, Inuwa averred.
“Digital Transformation is a journey, it is not a one off initiative or project that you will execute and you are done, no, it is a journey which needs continuous improvement and we are willing to go on this journey with you,” Inuwa concluded.
The ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, noted the possibility of fighting corrupt practices and other related offences without utilising technology is minute.
“When you look at the mandate of ICPC, the first responsibility is to ensure that it helps in preventing corruption, then investigate issues of corruption, prosecute, where there is a clear case of corruption, established through investigation. So, with a lot of changes observed over the years, particularly, since the creation of the Commission in 2000, we believe that aligning or collaborating with NITDA to digitise our processes will boost our services and speed up deliverables,” Aliyu noted.
He expressed the hope that the digitisation process will make the Organisation more transparent, accountable, and effective, which will invariably spur the Nigerian people to have confidence in the Commission.
