• Local developers worried over continued patronage of foreign packages

Software developers have expressed concern over continued patronage of foreign software by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), saying there are security implications, even as it amounts to wastage and capital flight.

This comes even as about 115 MDAs plan to procure software this year, according to the Federal Government’s 2026 Appropriation Bill.

Among the MDAs, 10 stand out in terms of spending. They plan to spend about N24 billion on software-related projects in the year.

The spending covers identity management, education, mining, cybersecurity, health, finance and immigration, sectors central to the government’s digital governance ambitions.

According to the proposal, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) leads the pack with a plan to spend N7.58 billion on software in 2026.

The Federal Ministry of Education (headquarters) also proposes a N7.55 billion software spending to cover digitization of education administration, data management and examination systems.

Other major allocations include the Mining Cadastral Office (N2.23 billion), the Geological Survey Agency of Nigeria (N1.32 billion), the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (N1.26 billion) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (N1.23 billion).

The Federal Ministry of Finance is to spend N1.09 billion. The Nigeria Immigration Service proposed (N1.01 billion), while the Budget Office of the Federation has a N827.14 million plan.

The Guardian had reported that some of these MDAs still procure software from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Africa, and the UAE.

Chairman, Mobile Software Nigeria, Chris Uwaje, said continued patronage of foreign software means the country is blindly digging more holes into “our already porous data and digital sovereignty. The future of Indigenous Software development and innovation is worrisome. He said no wonder the government is not interested in promoting a bill and enacting an Act for the adoption of the Indigenous Software Security Act!

Uwaje, a former president of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), said he thinks the government is fully aware of the security implications of using foreign software.

“Corruption and kickbacks in US dollars are pushing them. It is sad! A strategic change of leadership thinking and selflessness would easily address this. Obviously not with the current set of members of the NASS that can’t enact a law for the strict implementation of local apps and software.

Reacting to the development, Software expert and Founder/CEO, Ziemozi Interactive Limited, James Agada, urged the government to stop using foreign technology, especially foreign software technology.

“This is for several reasons – sovereignty, security, cost, both direct and indirect to the government and the economy. But this requires a dedicated multi-year effort to build and domesticate the critical technologies and applications locally. This has to be a nationwide effort, properly resourced and challenged and managed.

“I do not subscribe to knee-jerk bans and prohibitions and policies that only exist on paper, either no one is sincere in it or that they are impractical and full of exceptions. I think we should be defining how such an initiative can work and convincing the government to support and drive it,” he said.

Amid these complaints, there are even concerns around yearly wastage and uncompleted jobs.

A few months back, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) expressed worry that billions of naira are being pushed by MDAs through IT projects because they are too technical to be scrutinized by the National Assembly during the budget defence.

NITDA revealed that 56 per cent of IT projects executed by Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) have failed, citing poor compliance with the agency’s IT Project Clearance Guidelines as a major reason.

“These projects fail because they are not cleared to ensure alignment with national standards and priorities. We must stop wasting public funds on fragmented, uncoordinated IT systems that don’t deliver value,” NITDA DG, Kashifu Inuwa, stated.

The DG of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, corroborated this, adding that MDAs hide under IT projects to siphon funds.

“Most IT projects are intangible, and some MDAs use them as a cover to siphon public funds. “We’ve seen projects presented without standardization, which leads to inefficiencies and corruption,” he stated.

On his part, the Founder of Jidaw Systems, Jide Awe, said the ICT procurement system needs to be overhauled, and the national question of local content must be resolved and fully embraced by MDAs. (The Guardian)

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