Local content does not mean no bidding for contracts, says Ezeh

A former director general of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and President/Chief Executive of Tabriz Procurement Solutions Limited (TPS), Emeka Ezeh, has said that the local content should not be misconstrued to mean that there is not going to be bidding for government contracts.

While commending government for the political backing for local content, he said it is for all the stakeholders to key in and implement it according to the government directives, adding: “The Executive Order that was given by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while he was Acting President, should not be misconstrued to mean that people should be handpicked for the jobs.”

Speaking during a two-day workshop on public procurement, titled, ‘Budget 2017: Public Procurement Processes Simplified,’ in Abuja, Ezeh, a former president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), said it does not also means that foreign firms would not bid for local contracts either.

“But the kinds of jobs that the government is talking about is meant only for the local firms to bid for them. The local firms should focus on quality, as good quality will ensure their sustainability in business. Do not be in a hurry to make profit, improve on your quality, over time you will grow.”

He admitted that one cannot discuss local content in isolation of the stakeholders, who really themselves are the local content, saying: “It is a very good policy that it is intended to develop the people and empower them economically. The challenge is in making sure that the implementation is monitored.”

He stated that the workshop was meant to build capacity of the participants with the experience he has gathered over the past years, noting: “We want to ensure that Nigerians do not need to travel out of the country to spend foreign currencies on procurement training.

“That is part of what the local content is all about. I want to leverage on the local content pronouncement by the government to urge all agencies that are desirous of sending their people to do procurement training abroad to come to us and we would train them. Continuous training is critical to optimal performance of any organisation.”