By Aderogba George
Abuja, Dec. 22, 2025
A significant coalition of civil society and regional development organisations has issued a strong public endorsement and call to action, urging Nigerians to support the public procurement reforms being championed by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. This move highlights the critical, yet often overlooked, role of procurement in national development and governance.
The coalition, comprising the Northern Youth Integrity Group (NYIG) and the Oduduwa Development Initiative (ODI), made its position clear during a news conference in Abuja, framing the reforms as a non-partisan imperative for the country’s future.
The Core Argument: Why Procurement Reform is Foundational
Mr. Malcolm Adakole, Coordinator of NYIG, positioned public procurement reform as a central pillar of the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda. He argued that it targets deep-seated, structural weaknesses that have crippled Nigeria’s development for decades.
“Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable economic growth, meaningful infrastructure renewal, or improved public service delivery if the process for spending public funds remains opaque, discretionary, and resistant to oversight,” Adakole stated. This statement cuts to the heart of the issue: procurement is not just an administrative function, but the primary channel through which government intent is translated into tangible public goods. When it is flawed, every sector—from roads and hospitals to education and defense—suffers.
The specific ills the reforms aim to cure, as outlined by the coalition, are a familiar litany of waste:
- Inefficiency: Projects that drag on for years beyond deadline.
- Cost Inflation: The infamous phenomenon of contracts being awarded at grossly inflated prices.
- Procedural Abuse: Bending or breaking rules to favor specific contractors.
- Weak Value-for-Money: Accepting poor quality work and materials, leading to infrastructure that fails prematurely.
Inside the Reforms: Key Measures and Their Potential Impact
Adakole provided rare detail on the ongoing reform measures, moving the discussion from abstract support to concrete policy. These measures represent a systemic overhaul:
- Rationalisation of Approval Thresholds: This clarifies who can approve what size of contract, reducing bottlenecks and limiting opportunities for arbitrary decision-making at inappropriate levels.
- Strengthening Prior-Review and Compliance: This involves more robust checks before a contract is awarded, rather than trying to fix problems after the fact.
- Standardisation of Bidding Documents: A uniform process reduces ambiguity and makes it harder to craft tailor-made criteria for a preferred bidder.
- Enforceable Sanctions Against Defaulters: Moving beyond mere blacklisting to meaningful legal and financial penalties for contractors who fail to deliver.
- Transition to a Comprehensive E-Procurement System: Perhaps the most transformative, an end-to-end electronic system (like the GIFMIS platform for finance) would drastically reduce human interface in the process, automatically creating an audit trail, enhancing transparency, and allowing for real-time public tracking of contracts.
“The current reform trajectory seeks to entrench discipline, predictability, transparency, and professionalism within the procurement ecosystem,” Adakole summarized.
Acknowledging the Inevitable Pushback
In a candid admission, the coalition acknowledged that “meaningful reform inevitably generates resistance.” Adakole noted, “Systems that benefited from weak controls and informal influence are unsettled by rules-based governance.” This is a crucial point—successful reform is not just about designing good policies, but about overcoming the entrenched interests of a powerful “procurement cartel” that profits from the status quo.
A Stance Against “Sponsored” Advocacy
The conference took a notable turn as both groups positioned themselves against what they see as weaponized civil society activism. Mr. Akinyele Olasumbo, National President of ODI, emphasized that their advocacy must be “evidence-based and responsible,” and that they would “reject sponsored narratives.”
Adakole added context, revealing that the organisations had faced pressure from “external actors seeking to use civil society groups to settle personal scores with individuals in government.” Their collective message was a pledge to avoid “unsubstantiated allegations,” “anonymous claims,” and “coordinated misinformation campaigns that undermine reform under the guise of accountability.”
This reflects a growing tension within Nigeria’s civic space between groups that maintain a stance of constant opposition and those, like this coalition, who choose to engage with and support specific government initiatives they deem credible.
“Our position remains firm,” concluded Olasumbo. “Procurement reform is a governance necessity and must be protected from politicisation and rollback.”
The coalition’s endorsement provides a significant, regionally-balanced boost for Tinubu’s procurement agenda. However, the true test will lie in the consistent implementation of these technical measures against powerful headwinds, and whether the promised transparency ultimately delivers tangible value for money to the Nigerian public. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
AG/TAK
Edited by Tosin Kolade
