President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will soon issue an executive order to prioritise made in Nigeria goods and curb the importation of foreign products into the country.
Addressing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House on Monday, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Muhammed Idris said the move was a major policy decision taken by FEC following a proposal by President Tinubu “on what he calls the Renewed Hope Nigeria First policy.”
The minister who said the policy shift was aimed at making Nigeria the centre point of all business activities relating to this country, noted that, “If there are any businesses to be done by anybody, the priority will be Nigeria First, if you have any local content, there is no reason for you to go outside this country to import, now this is in the form of an executive bill that will soon be issued by Mr President.”
He said already, the council had approved a set of those proposals and “the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has been directed to prepare an Executive order to be issued by Mr President.”
The new policy which is expected to foster a new business culture, the minister said, will be bold, confident and aimed at “making the government invest in our people and our industries by changing how the government spends money, how we procure and how we also build our economy.”
He explained that going forward, Nigerian industry will take precedence in all procurement processes, adding that “Where local supply falls short. Contracts will be structured to build capacity domestically. Contractors will no longer serve as intermediaries sourcing foreign goods where local factories die.
“So, President Bola Tinubu has proposed that we will no longer just sit there and allow importation to come into this country where there is the capacity for the production of any of these commodities locally.”
According to Idris, “the Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP has been immediately directed, to revise and enforce procurement guidelines to prioritise locally made goods and homegrown solutions. It has also been directed to create what is called a local content compliance framework for all government procurements.
“The BPP has also been directed to maintain a register of high quality Nigeria manufacturers and service providers regularly engaged by the federal government.
“The BPP, has also been directed to deploy all procurement officers from the MDAs, all the procurement officers posted to MDAs will be reverted to the Bureau of public procurement as a line agency without jeopardizing the possibility of efficiency.
“In all ministries, departments and agencies, no procurement of foreign goods or services already available locally shall proceed without justification and a written waiver from the BPP. Where no viable local option exists, contracts must include provisions for technology transfer, local production or skills development.
“The MDS, have also been directed to immediately conduct an audit of all procurement plans and submit revised versions in line with these directives. Breaches will attract sanctions, including cancelation of procurement processes by such MDAs, and indeed disciplinary action against responsible officers.
“This direction, like I mentioned earlier, the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has been directed to prepare an executive order to give full legal effect to the resolutions of the Federal Executive Council,” he said.
The Minister further explained that what the policy seeks to do is to domesticate our processes,” where there is the possibility of getting local manufacturers to supply any kind of goods or procure any kind of services, there will be no need for MDAs to now procure these goods or services from outside this country, and where there is an exceptional need for these services to procure from outside.
“There must be a waiver to be obtained, written waiver by the Bureau of Public procurement . This is a major shift in government policy aiming to put Nigeria at the heart of all businesses in this country.” Daily Trust