President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s public procurement thresholds in a significant reform to the country’s contracting process.
The Special Assistant to the President on social media, Dada Olusegun, disclosed this in a statement posted on his X page on Friday.
Under the new regime, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will be responsible for approving contracts from N5 billion and above for goods and services, and N10 billion and above for works.
The Presidency said the new rules are designed to streamline procurement, decentralize contract approvals, and enhance transparency across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Decentralised approval
According to Dada, the contract approval responsibilities are now more decentralized across the different layers of government.
- For projects of lower value, he said the Ministerial Tenders Board will approve contracts from N50 million to N1 billion for Goods and Services, and N50 million to N2.5 billion for Works projects.
- Under the new regime, Parastatal Tenders Board is to approve contracts up to N500 million for Goods and Services, and up to N1 billion for Works.
- Accounting Officers of MDAs are to approve contracts below N50 million for Goods and Services and below N100 million for Works.
Procurement methods by value
The new framework also clarifies the procurement methods to be adopted by MDAs based on contract values.
According to the new framework, projects valued at N1 billion and above for Goods and Services and those valued at N5 billion and above for Works must go through the National and International Competitive Bidding process.
It added that such projects must also have requests for quotations and prequalification requirements.
For projects from N500 million for Goods and Services, and N1 billion for Works, this must go through Consultancy.
In addition, the MDAs must publish monthly procurement reports on their websites and the BPP portal, including all awarded contracts for transparency and accountability.
It added that MDAs must also budget for procurement training using only BPP-accredited trainers.
The Presidency noted that the MDAs are also expected to prioritize local goods and contractors in all federal procurements in line with the administration’s Nigeria First Policy.
This is expected to boost local industries and create job opportunities, in line with the administration’s broader economic strategy.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu had announced that the Federal Government will bar all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) from procuring foreign goods and services where local alternatives exist.
This move was part of a broader effort to strengthen local industries and reduce import dependency.
- The directive was one of the key resolutions adopted at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held recently and was shared in a statement issued by Sunday Dare, Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication to President Tinubu, through his official X account.
- According to the statement, the new policy, dubbed the Nigeria First Policy, is designed to stimulate domestic production, enforce local content compliance, and overhaul the government’s procurement practices.
