President Bola Tinubu has announced that the federal government will ban all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) from acquiring products and services from overseas when there are domestic alternatives.

This action is a part of a larger initiative to boost domestic industry and lessen reliance on imports.

President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, shared the directive via his official X account. It was one of the major resolutions approved at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday, 5th April.

According to the statement, the new policy, dubbed the Nigeria First Policy, is designed to stimulate domestic production, enforce local content compliance, and overhaul the government’s procurement practices.

“We must foster a new business culture bold, confident, and Nigerian. The government must lead by example. We will invest in our people and our industries by changing how we spend, procure, and build. 

“Going forward, Nigerian industry will take precedence in all procurement. Where local supply falls short, contracts will be structured to build capacity here. Contractors will no longer serve as intermediaries sourcing foreign goods while local factories lie idle. 

“We will make what we use and use what we make, not as a slogan, but as a national commitment,” President Tinubu said. 

In the future, clauses of knowledge transfer, skill development, or the expansion of local manufacturing capacity will need to be incorporated into contracts that lack feasible local alternatives.

One prominent example was the sugar business, whose quota distribution under the National Sugar Master Plan II will heavily rely on local investment and reverse integration.

According to the administration, this policy marks the beginning of a new era centred on initiative, independence, and patriotism, driven by capable public sector leadership.

Source: Nairametrics

Image Credit: POTFRON