By Caleb Tamunosaki
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has blamed the management of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for its lingering industrial dispute with the Federal Government.
ASUU alleged that NITDA has been sabotaging genuine efforts that could lead to the early resolution of the industrial dispute between the union and the Federal Government.
The Port Harcourt Zone of ASUU made the comment in a statement after a meeting held at the University of Port Harcourt.
ASUU said that had NITDA been engrossed in maligning the Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which it said recorded 99.3 per cent in integrity test as a credible alternative to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) of the government.
The statement was signed by the
the coordinator of the ASUU Port Harcourt zone, Stanley Ogoun and the chairperson of NDU branch, Tonbara Kingdom; Uzoma Chima (UNIPORT); Socrates Ebo (FUO); Ekaette Ekpo (IAUE) and Donny Sigah (UAT).
“Sadly, NITDA has displayed complete disdain for this initiative and feat of our union by its activities. Nigerians should know that NITDA has conducted integrity test on UTAS twice. Both at the first instance last year and the repeat exercise in the presence of all stakeholders in March this year, UTAS turned out excellently.” The statement said
The university lecturers called on the Federal Government to scrap NITDA saying the agency had failed in the mandate to create indigenous contents in information communication technology.
ASUU said further that NIDTA has become a tool of sabotage to the desired development of the digital economy.
The union leaders stressed that the agency had been polluted by unhealthy political control thereby lacking the needed neutrality required of an agency with such a sensitive mandate.
According to them,, NITDA is being run a leadership that frustrates local ICT solutions and defends fraudulent foreign software they had interest in.
“Meanwhile, the celebrated IPPIS platform had never been subjected to any integrity test. Even with the massive outcry by civil servants and the pains inflicted on them by IPPIS, and the attendant damning report of the Auditor-General of the Federation and the Head of Service (of the Federation), NITDA has kept mute.
“However, the management of NITDA is working round the clock to malign UTAS contrary to the observations of its technical team involved in the testing of UTAS. We challenge NITDA to publish the daily test report sheet of the nine days signed by NITDA team lead and UTAS team lead as witnessed by the stakeholders in attendance.
“Students, parents and patriotic Nigerians should know that NITDA is a clog in the wheel of progress as far as the resolution of the current impasse between ASUU and the Federal Government is concerned. There is a grand scam designed to rob the country of millions of dollars through frivolous waste of resources using IPPIS with the full blessings of NITDA.
“NITDA has become a giant scam. When salt loses its saltiness, it is better thrown away. Now is the time to scrap NITDA since it has become a source of sabotage to the development of digital economy in Nigeria, a mandate for which it was established.” They added
