NIMC and 9 MDAs to Spend ₦24bn on software in 2026

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and nine other federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have budgeted about ₦24 billion for software-related projects in 2026.

This is based on figures in the Federal Government’s 2026 Appropriation Bill. While 115 MDAs have provisions for software acquisition, these 10 agencies have the largest allocations, covering identity management, education, mining, cybersecurity, health, finance, immigration, and budgeting.

Budget breakdown – Who is spending what

NIMC has the highest software allocation among the top spenders, with ₦7.58 billion budgeted for 2026.

The Federal Ministry of Education (Headquarters) follows with ₦7.55 billion, reflecting ongoing digitisation in education administration and data systems.

Other allocations include ₦2.23 billion for the Mining Cadastral Office and ₦1.32 billion for the Geological Survey Agency of Nigeria.

The National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (NCCC) is allocated ₦1.26 billion.

In health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Abuja, has ₦1.23 billion.

The Federal Ministry of Finance (Headquarters) has ₦1.09 billion.

The Nigeria Immigration Service is allocated ₦1.01 billion.

The Budget Office of the Federation is budgeted ₦827.14 million.

Why the spending is raising concerns

Industry stakeholders have raised concerns about the recurring pattern of budgeting billions for software without clear improvement in public service delivery.

NITDA has warned that MDAs push large IT projects because they are technical and often escape detailed scrutiny during budget defence sessions.

NITDA also reported that 56% of IT projects executed by Federal Public Institutions failed, linking the failures to poor compliance with its IT Project Clearance Guidelines.

NITDA’s position is that projects fail when they are not cleared for alignment with national standards and priorities, leading to fragmented systems that do not deliver value.

The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, has also warned that some MDAs use IT projects as a cover to siphon funds, citing weak standardisation and procurement abuse.

Foreign software and capital flight

IT expert Adewale Adeoye said Nigeria would benefit more if a large share of government software budgets went to local solutions.

He said many agencies still prefer foreign software even when local options exist, meaning public funds leave the Nigerian economy instead of building local capacity.

ISPON estimates Nigeria loses ₦156 billion annually to software importation and says MDAs help drive this trend through continued reliance on foreign software acquisition.

Steps Government says it is taking

BPP says it has introduced standard bidding documents for IT procurement and plans to work with NITDA to improve transparency, reduce duplication, and cut waste.

Adedokun also recommended service-wide procurement of software licences, especially for vendors like Microsoft and Oracle—to reduce costs and limit inflated contracts. He also proposed a national IT price intelligence template to benchmark IT costs.

What you should know about NITDA’s rules

NITDA introduced its IT Project Clearance Guideline in 2018 to ensure federal IT projects deliver value and support national digital transformation goals.

The guideline was later revised to emphasise interoperability, cost-effectiveness, transparency, and compliance with national digital economy goals.

The revised framework sets a three-step process: Solution Design, Implementation, and Quality Assurance. It also requires contractors to be licensed and to use certified professionals before qualifying for government IT contracts.