Patronise Nigerians In Project Execution, Buhari Directs MDAs
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) to give priority to indigenous professionals in the planning, designing and execution of national projects. He said foreign professionals should only be considered where it has been certified that the expertise was not locally available.
At the inauguration of the Presidential Monitoring and Evaluation Council of the Executive Order 5 at the State House, Abuja, Buhari said, “The federal government shall introduce margin of preference in national competitive bidding in contracts, in the evaluation of tenders, from indigenous suppliers of goods manufactured locally over foreign goods.’’
He said all MDAs should ensure that any professional practicing in Nigeria must be duly registered with the appropriate regulatory body in Nigeria.
“All MDAs shall ensure that for all consultancy contracts awarded to foreign companies, engineering drawings, necessary calculations, design are made available to their corresponding Nigerian partners, including arrangements with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as partners towards local production of needed materials,’’ he said.
The president, in a statement issued by his media aide, Femi Adesina, said Executive Order No 5 was aimed at placing Nigerian professionals and manufacturers at the centre of the Nigerian economy.
He said Executive Order 5 would be used by the administration to midwife a new beginning that would transform Nigeria’s economy from resource-based to a knowledge based and innovation driven economy.
Buhari said suppliers and contractors under national competitive bidding process shall disclose local material (processed or unprocessed), where available and needed for the execution of projects.
