Business
FG Announces New Procurement Policy Shift Favouring Local Manufacturing
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a “Nigeria First Policy” aimed at prioritising the use of locally made goods and services in all government procurements.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, made the disclosure saying that the policy seeks to domesticate all government processes.
The Nigerian government expects that with the new policy, local manufacturers will get priority in the provision of goods and services.
“No procurement of foreign goods or services already available locally shall proceed without justification, and where there is an exceptional need for these services to procure from outside, there must be a waiver to be obtained, written waiver to be obtained by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP),” Mr Idris said.
“Where no viable local option exists, contracts must include provisions for technology transfer, local production or skills development.
For example, the provision of portal allocations under the sugar master plan should take into consideration participants’ backwards integration plans and investment in Nigeria and ensure compliance with the Master Plan.
“The MDAs have also been directed to immediately conduct an audit of all procurement plans and submit revised versions in line with these directives. Breaches will attract sanctions, including cancellation of procurement processes by such MDAS, and indeed disciplinary action against responsible officers,” the minister noted.
The federal cabinet approved these proposals on Monday and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation has been directed to prepare an Executive Order to be issued by President Bola Tinubu.
This is a major shift in government policy, Mr Idris added. “It puts Nigeria – not foreign companies, not imports – at the heart of our national development.”Once signed into law, Mr Idris said, the legislation will “foster a new business culture that will be bold, confident, but also very, very Nigerian, and it aims at making the government invest in our people and our industries by changing how the government spends money, how we procure and how we also build our economy.”“Going forward, Nigerian industry will take precedence in all procurement processes,” the minister said.
This is a major shift in government policy, Mr Idris added. “It puts Nigeria – not foreign companies, not imports – at the heart of our national development.
”Once signed into law, Mr Idris said, the legislation will “foster a new business culture that will be bold, confident, but also very, very Nigerian, and it aims at making the government invest in our people and our industries by changing how the government spends money, how we procure and how we also build our economy.”
Where local supply falls short, contracts will be structured to build capacity domestically, according to Mr Idris. “Contractors will no longer serve as intermediaries sourcing foreign goods where local factories die. I take the example of the sugar industry.”
“For example, we still have so much importation of sugar coming into this country, yet we have the Nigerian sugar council that was set up to look inward to see how sugar production can be produced, you know, for the benefit of Nigerians.
President Tinubu has proposed that we will no longer just sit there and allow importation to come into this country where there is the capacity for production of these commodities locally.
Now, as I said, the president has proposed the following directives, and all of them have been approved by the Federal Executive Council.”
President Tinubu has proposed that we will no longer just sit there and allow importation to come into this country where there is the capacity for production of these commodities locally. Now, as I said, the president has proposed the following directives, and all of them have been approved by the Federal Executive Council.”
Business
Truecaller adds travel eSIM to portfolio
COO at Truecaller, Fredrik Kjell, said that the launch marks Truecaller’s move into mobile data services, broadening the platform beyond caller ID and spam protection, and for the first time adding digital consumables to the portfolio.
Truecaller has launched travel eSIM in Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Malaysia, and 25 other countries, saying it is to deepen global communications among people by dismantling fetters occasioned by location.
COO at Truecaller, Fredrik Kjell, said that the launch marks Truecaller’s move into mobile data services, broadening the platform beyond caller ID and spam protection, and for the first time adding digital consumables to the portfolio.
Travel eSIM is also currently available to purchase in Italy, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Finland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway, Chile and Indonesia.
The leading global platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication, has 500 million people already on its platform with their daily communication.
Travel eSIM extends that relationship to international travel – a category where users routinely overpay for connectivity or arrive at their destination disconnected.
Travel eSIM is a fully digital mobile data service that activates in minutes and offers plans from 1 GB over seven days to 20 GB over 30 days. Customers can buy travel eSIM in 29 markets at launch, through the Truecaller iPhone app or on the web at Truecaller.com.
Business
Nigeria’s external debt: Tinubu’s borrowing in 24 months surpasses 55 years record
He revealed that, with Nigeria’s total public debt of N159.28 trillion as of April 2026, according to the Debt Management Office, every Nigerian owes N670,000, lamenting the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s debt profile in recent years.
” The N65.9 trillion borrowed by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in the last 24 months is more than five times the total debt Nigeria incurred in the first 55 years of its Independence.”
This observation was made by Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics LTD/GTE, Dele Oye.
Oye, who is the immediate past chairman of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), noted that while successive governments accumulated debt over decades, the Tinubu administration alone added N65.9 trillion in two years, compared to just N12 trillion accumulated over 55 years.
He revealed that, with Nigeria’s total public debt of N159.28 trillion as of April 2026, according to the Debt Management Office, every Nigerian owes N670,000, lamenting the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s debt profile in recent years.
Oye cautioned that unless urgent measures are taken to strengthen revenue generation and fiscal discipline, the rising debt burden could place long-term pressure on public finances and constrain government spending on critical sectors.
Cast your mind back to 2006. Nigeria had just pulled off one of the most celebrated fiscal feats in African history. President Olusegun Obasanjo paid $12 billion to extinguish $30 billion in Paris Club debt. Nigeria was, briefly, externally debt-free. The Excess Crude Account (ECA) was flush. The future looked fundable. Twenty years later, that golden moment reads like a fairy tale. Under President Goodluck Jonathan, debt crept back to N12.06 trillion by 2015, manageable, but the warning signs were already blinking. Then came the Buhari years.
“In eight years, the debt exploded from N12.06 trillion to N87.38 trillion, a 620 percent increase. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was pressed into printing money through ‘Ways and Means’ advances; N23.7 trillion of this was eventually securitised into long-term bonds, effectively converting a government overdraft into a generational liability.
“Tinubu’s administration has added a further N65.9 trillion in just two years. To put that in perspective: it took Nigeria’s first 55 years of independence to accumulate N12 trillion in debt. The present administration has added more than five times that amount in 24 months,” said Oye.
Business
Gas Marketers pleads for FG intervention over soaring price for common Nigerians
NALPGAM National President, Mr. Edu Inyang, said that cooking gas now sells between N1, 500 and N1, 700 per kilogram, the current situation has placed millions of households, food vendors, small businesses and low-income earners under severe pressure, as many Nigerians can no longer afford cooking gas for daily use.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has appealed to the Federal Government to urgently intervene and stabilise the supply and pricing of cooking gas inoder to prevent further hardships on Nigerians.
NALPGAM National President, Mr. Edu Inyang, said that cooking gas now sells between N1, 500 and N1, 700 per kilogram, the current situation has placed millions of households, food vendors, small businesses and low-income earners under severe pressure, as many Nigerians can no longer afford cooking gas for daily use.
He disclosed that marketers pay between N25.2 million and N26.2 million for a 20-metric-tonne truck of liquefied petroleum gas, depending on location.
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