Nigeria First: Rewriting the Rules of Business
Tinubu's New Policy Prioritizes Nigerian Goods and Services in Government Spending
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) says the newly approved Renewed Hope Nigeria First policy is a unique and revolutionary move that will put the country at the centre of all business policies.
Mr Emeka Nwankpa, the Chairman of TMSG, in a statement on Thursday, said while it bore some similarities with Executive Order 5 of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigeria First policy was more detailed and all-encompassing.
“By pushing through the Renewed Hope Nigeria First policy, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has, in our view, set the template for a strategic policy that will boost the country’s industrialisation agenda.
“We are elated that at the heart of the policy is a clear directive to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to revise and enforce procurement rules that will give priority to locally produced goods and services across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS).
“BPP is also mandated to maintain a regularly updated database of high-quality Nigerian suppliers to be used as a reference for all procurement decisions,” said the group.
It said this was a major step to ensuring the success of the Nigeria First policy, rather than leaving the agency to design its programme for its implementation.
“Knowing how some MDAS operate historically, it is instructive that the government boldly declared that none of them would be allowed to procure foreign goods or services known to be available locally without a written waiver from the BPP.
“In addition, nothing could be more ennobling than the declaration that ‘where foreign contracts are unavoidable, they must include provisions for technology transfer, local production, or capacity development in Nigeria.’
“What we also find interesting is how, during his presentation of the FEC decision, the Information Minister Mohammed Idris cited the example of the sugar industry, where, despite local capacity, Nigeria continues to import vast quantities of sugar,” said TMSG.
Referring to Idris, the group said the provision of quota allocations under the National Sugar Master Plan will now take into consideration each participant’s investment in backwards integration and local production capacity.
It said the decision to place Nigeria first in government expenditures and encourage import substitution would have a domino effect on industrial growth, which would also pave the way for more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
The group said it looked forward to a swift drafting of the Executive Order that would give full legal backing to the policy by the Attorney General of the Federation. (NAN)
