By Uche Onyeali
National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, and the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, on Monday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on the implementation of “Nigeria First” Policy on Procurement, projects and other related matters.
This was made known in a statement signed by the Director of Information, NASENI, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan.
The Nigeria First Policy is an initiative of the federal government aimed at promoting Nigerian-made goods, services and utilisation of local content, infrastructure and other value chain.
As part of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of government, the policy seeks to encourage local production and consumption of Nigerian goods or services, support Nigerian business and entrepreneurs, foster economic growth and development, reduce dependency on imported goods and promote Nigerian culture and identity.
Also, by prioritising local content, the policy aims to create jobs, stimulate economic activity and increase Nigeria’s global competitiveness.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony at the BPP Headquarters in Abuja, Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Mr Khalil Halilu, said with the signing of the MoU and implementation of Nigeria First Policy, 80 percent of the challenges faced while trying to convince investors and foreign partners would have been solved, as Nigeria will cease to be a dumping ground for foreign goods, while focusing on the promotion of local products, goods and services.
Halilu said with support now coming from BPP, the over 50 market-ready NASENI products would be off the shelves and gain the patronage of Nigerians, adding that NASENI had gained for the country, over $2 billion from its recent partnership activities with China alone.
“One thing that was clear when I took over the leadership of NASENI was the determination to move the agency from just producing prototypes to the commercialisation of its technologies and products, this was complemented by the turnaround which we did in rebranding the agency.
“We have 50 market-ready Nigeria branded products. NASENI is building the biggest renewable energy park in Nasarawa and has entered into partnership with Abuja Technology Village to boost technology transfer and innovation, enhance local manufacturing capacity, transform NASENI’s research-focused installation into full production facilities, promote national brands and local production,” he explained.
Buttressing the partnership between NASENI and BPP, he said it is expected that the policy would have transformative impact on Nigeria’s economy and human capital development, align with national goals for industrialisation, youth employment and economic diversification.
“This also shows that our efforts are not in vain,” Halilu added.
Earlier in his speech, the Director-General of BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun said the MoU offers a structured bridge between production and procurement, and how to take locally made solutions off the shelves and place them at the center of public service delivery, which is aimed at aligning government policies with national priorities, as well as give practical force to the Nigeria First Policy.
According to him, “NASENI’s innovations, from tractors to tablets, from surveillance drones to solar backup systems, will now be actively prioritised in the procurement plans by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs. We are institutionalising a framework that makes local options not just preferable, but the default option before all others.”
He added that with the signing of the MoU, “BPP will now integrate NASENI’s product catalogue into the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal, NOCOPO, and therefore encourage other MDAs to follow suit.
“Nigeria First Policy is not an act of protectionism, but an act of patriotism grounded in performance and it is targeted at fastracking Nigeria’s industrial revolution.
“NASENI has invested in quality assurance. Its products are certified by national institutions such as SON and NAFDAC. This means its offerings will now be visible, verifiable and measurable across all MDAs. First, we are integrating NASENI’s catalogue into NOCOPO. Between January and June this year alone, NOCOPO’s enhanced price intelligence has helped Nigeria save over N173 billion, $155 million and €1.7 million,” he said.
While calling on MDAs to follow NASENI’s footprint in promoting Made-in-Nigeria products, he said BPP’s revised threshold is now N5 billion for goods and N10 billion for works, meaning that MDAs can act faster, while they continue to strengthen post-review and audit mechanisms.
He emphasised that the role of BPP is to ensure that these standards are rewarded with access and that MDAs no longer look outside when the best is being made inside.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let me say here that we will be backing this commitment with reform actions,” Adedokun concluded.
