The Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) on Wednesday expressed concern at the replacement of Remita Payment Service Ltd. by the Federal Government.
The NCS President, Dr Sirajo Aliyu, made the concern known during a news conference in Lagos.
Remita Payment Solution is a subsidiary of SystemSpecs Software Technology Group and helps individuals and organisations with payment solutions.
The Federal Government, on March 4, replaced it with Treasury Management and Revenue Assurance System.
Aliyu said the NCS expressed the concern because Remita had been providing payment services to the Federal Government over the years.
He said that the company had been in existence for almost 20 years and had maintained a 100 per cent employment history of Nigerians.
According to him, the NCS was worried about the implications of the replacement on the indigenous Information Technology (IT) industry and the economy at large.
Aliyu said: “We are concerned that this can send a wrong signal to other indigenous IT companies.
He noted that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) project was a software-driven IT project delivered 100 per cent on indigenous technology by a Nigerian firm,’’ he said.
The NCS president appealed to the government to prevent anything that could make other indigenous IT companies to believe that they did not have its support.
Aliyu noted that it was within government’s purview to make changes, but urged that for the sake of the industry at large, such changes should be discussed extensively with the concerned service provider.
According to the NCS president, replacing such a widely used and well-celebrated platform can come with some unanticipated challenges.
The NCS president said that Nigeria’s TSA implementation, powered by indigenous technology, had been widely acknowledged as one of the most successful projects worldwide.
He said that TSA had been celebrated to have delivered mega savings to government and introduced exceptional transparency into national revenue management.
Aliyu added that the TSA had improved operational efficiency in fund management and made tax remittance effective.
The NCS president said that its concern was that replacing such a project could serve as a disincentive to the indigenous IT industry.
He said that the NCS was also concerned about the potential loss of jobs and opportunities for young Nigerians who worked with Remita.
“We urge the government to reconsider its decision and engage with Remita and other stakeholders to find a solution that will benefit everyone,” he said.
Also, the NCS Vice-President, Prof. Charles Onyeukwu, urged the Federal Government to reconsider its decision on Remita Payment Service Ltd.
Onyeukwu said that Remita was awarded the contract to manage the TSA after a rigorous selection process involving local and international companies.
He said that the company had, from indications, delivered on its mandate.
The vice-president said that the decision to replace Remita could create confusion in the industry and undermine the progress made so far in the implementation of the TSA.
According to him, Remita can create Application Programming Interface for an additional player to plug in and provide additional services, if needed.
Onyeukwu said that this would ensure maintenance of TSA and sustenance of progress made so far in it.
The Federal Government, on March 4, unveiled Treasury Management and Revenue Assurance System to replace Remita.
This is contained in a memo from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The memo indicated that the Treasury Management and Revenue Assurance System was designed to streamline and manage federal revenue collections and payments across ministries, departments and agencies.
“The system will go live on March 4, 2025, as it will be deployed in two phases,” the memo had said.
The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) is the umbrella and the premier body of all computing and information technology professionals, interest groups and stakeholders in Nigeria.
NAN
