President Muhammadu Buhari has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDA, to give priority to indigenous professionals for planning, design and execution of national projects.
The President said foreign professionals should only be considered where it had been certified that the expertise is not available.
Speaking on Thursday at the Inauguration of the Presidential Monitoring and Evaluation Council of the Executive Order 5 at the Presidential Villa Abuja, President Buhari said, the Federal Government will 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 shall ensure that any professional practising in Nigeria must be duly registered with the appropriate regulatory body in Nigeria.”
He explained that Executive Order No 5 is aimed at placing Nigerian Professionals and Manufacturers at the centre of the Nigerian Economy.
The President noted that Executive Order 5 will be used by the administration to midwife a new beginning that would transform Nigeria’s economy from resource-based to knowledge-based and innovation-driven.
Also Read: Nigerian Export Promotion Council: President Buhari appoints new CEO
President Buhari said suppliers and contractors under the national competitive bidding process shall disclose local material (processed or unprocessed), were available and needed for the execution of projects.
He added that designs for all contracts, programmes, projects, etc., shall be in the English Language before signing.
The President, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Monitoring Evaluation Council, said the team would oversee the general implementation of the Executive Order 5, and the secretariat would be domiciled at the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, supported by the Strategy Implementation Task Office for Presidential Executive Order 5 (SITOPEO-5).
He said the secretariat would facilitate the administration, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the provisions of Executive Order No. 5 and provide prompt reports to Council.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, said the inauguration was timely, assuring that implementation would harness the human and natural resources of the country, reduce exportation of jobs and remove the current renting pattern, which fuels inefficacy.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
