WorldStage Newsonline– Newly registered local contractors and small-scale businesses are henceforth to have access and execute public contracts, especially in construction and other infrastructure projects.
The development is coming at the instance of a bill sponsored by Senator Suleiman Sadiq (APC, Kwara North) at Wednesday plenary to address the disadvantage suffered by indigenous businesses in participating in federal government contracts.
Following sponsor of the bill, the Senate has therefore directed its Committees on Public Procurement and Local Content to collaborate with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to amend Nigeria’s procurement and local content laws so that newly registered local contractors can be included, especially in contract bidding.
The upper chamber made the decision after adopting a motion sponsored by Sadiq during the plenary.
The aim of the motion is to ensure that newly registered local contractors and small-scale businesses can access and execute public contracts, especially in construction and other infrastructure projects
Mr. Sadiq, while presenting the motion decried the exclusion of small and medium indigenous companies from participating in federal government contracts.
He argued that empowering local contractors would not only increase job creation but also stimulate community development and ensure that public funds circulate within the local economy.
As debate heated on the bill, many of the senators supported the motion when it was put to debate.
Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) emphasized the economic implications of the motion, noting that local contractors often have the required expertise and capacity but are overlooked due to current procurement guidelines.
Also speaking, Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) questioned the logic of excluding qualified Nigerian firms from benefiting from their own government’s contracts.
“No Nigerian contractor, no matter highly skilled, can go to China to get contract. I didn’t see why we should not engage indigenous people to participate in the construction,” he added.
The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, expressed the same concerns, noting that local contractors are consistently shortchanged.
“Our local contractors are being shortchanged. It is not that we don’t like the foreigners but our people should not remain like that. The local content act should be amended,” Jibrin added.
After listening to the contributions from senators, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, put the passage to vote and majority of the senators supported it.
Akpabio thereafter directed the relevant committees to work closely with the BPP in amending the laws to allow greater local participation in federal contracts, including those awarded to startups and newly registered firms.
“I believed this will cure all the defects we have in the contracting system and the idea of shutting out newly registered companies from participating even when they have clearly performed.
“You can’t have experience if you do not have the opportunity. Somebody must give you the opportunity before you can have the experience,” the senate president added.
Nigeria’s procurement framework has long been criticized for being overly complex and biased in favour of established foreign firms.
Many public infrastructure contracts especially in road and bridge construction are awarded to foreign companies, sidelining capable local contractors.
The current Public Procurement Act and Local Content Act impose stringent requirements, including years of experience, financial thresholds, and international certifications, which many indigenous firms struggle to meet, especially startups and SMEs.
Although the Public Procurement Act 2007 does not specify an exact number of years of experience required, however, in practice, many government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) often require 3 to 5 years of relevant experience in executing similar projects when evaluating bids.
These strict requirements often disadvantage local contractors, especially newly registered or small-scale firms, who may lack long track records or large financial resources. As a result, many contracts are awarded to established or foreign firms, limiting local participation and growth.
If the procurement law is successfully amended, it could open up billions of naira in contract opportunities to local companies, boost indigenous technical capacity, and localize economic growth.
