President Tinubu Approves ‘Nigeria First Policy’ Directive

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a new national procurement directive titled the “Nigeria First Policy.” 

The policy mandates all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritize locally made goods and homegrown solutions in their procurement processes.

According to the President, the policy is aimed at ensuring that Nigerian industries take center stage in government procurement activities, with foreign alternatives only considered when local capacity is demonstrably inadequate. 

Even in such cases, contracts must be structured to foster local production, technology transfer, and skills development.

“Contractors will no longer act as mere middlemen importing foreign goods while our local factories lie idle,” the President stated.

Key directives issued by President Tinubu include:

To the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP): Revise and strictly enforce procurement guidelines to give preference to Nigerian products and solutions; Establish a Local Content Compliance Framework to guide all federal procurements; Maintain a comprehensive register of high-quality Nigerian manufacturers and service providers regularly patronized by the government; Revert the deployment of procurement officers across MDAs to BPP control without affecting operational efficiency.

To all MDAs: No procurement of foreign goods or services available locally will proceed without a written waiver from the BPP; Where viable local options do not exist, contracts must include clear provisions for technology transfer, skills development, or local manufacturing; Specific sectoral programs like the Sugar Master Plan must tie quota allocations to backward integration and investments in Nigeria; MDAs are to immediately audit and revise their procurement plans in line with the Nigeria First Policy.

The Nigeria First Policy marks a significant step in the Tinubu administration’s economic reform agenda as any breach of these directives will attract sanctions, including cancellation of procurement processes and disciplinary action against responsible officers.