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The presidency is intervening in the spat between Certified Computer Manufacturers of Nigeria (CCMON) and the National Population Commission (NPC) over the use of only foreign technology services for the conduct of its planned 2022 national census.
Persons familiar with the matter told IT Edge News in Abuja that based on the advice of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the presidency has asked the NPC to show it has not contravened provisions of IT Public Procurement guidelines and Executive Orders 003 and 005 in respect of Local Content.
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Ministry sources said Abuja is worried that the NPC’s actions could erode gains made in respect of promoting indigenous capacity in the IT industry as well as further worsening the country’s foreign exchange difficulties.
The “Executive Order 3 On Support of Local Content Procurement” and the “Presidential Executive Order 5 for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology” impose obligations on federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to as first option, promote and patronise local industries and indigenous skill sets.
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The CCMON, an umbrella body for local manufacturers of computer and allied technology solutions, has accused the NPC of planning to acquire 800,000 foreign devices which clearly undermines the local content policy.
In a statement signed Wednesday by CCMON president, Adenike Abudu, the CCMON accused the NPC of flouting the existing regulations by shortlisting only the services of foreign ICT companies to provide the hardware devices and other solutions required for the census.
The statement reads: “CCMON decries this unwholesome plan by NPC and appeals to the president to put a halt to this violation of his orders and cause NPC to strictly follow his executive orders.
“There are NITDA certified local devices manufacturers who also have ISO 9001:2015 quality standards certified that performed excellently in previous government projects, including the N-Power project managed by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“The posture and antics of NPC is unacceptable as it negates the Local Content Policy, the interest of young unemployed Nigerians and is directed at encouraging capital flight.
“CCMON believes that this is an attempt to all intents and purposes by NPC to sabotage the credible efforts of the federal government in the ICT sub sector of our economy and deprive Nigerians of their means of livelihood.”
It would appear that an August 16, 2022 meeting that involved the NPC, CCMON and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) failed to achieve a consensus.
According to CCMON, the indigenous IT industry already have devices manufactured locally certified by the NITDA all of which are already ISO 9001:2015 certified in terms of quality benchmarked on global standard. These solutions have all been successfully deployed with excellent outcome in similar national projects by INEC for national elections; and the Bank of Industry (BOI) for management of N-Power scheme among others.
“The CCMON therefore humbly requests President Muhammadu Buhari to put a halt to this violation of his orders and cause NPC to strictly follow his executive orders,” Abudu stated while also asking the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to ensure that the NPC acquires only NITDA certified made-in-Nigeria computing devices by indigenous original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
