By Sufuyan Ojeifo

An article in TheCable edition of July 4, 2025, entitled: “Lessons from Kenya’s e-procurement revolution,” examined the East African country’s e-procurement reforms and the rapid transformation in how it buys and spends.

It was a good read. And what it did, perhaps without meaning to, was remind us that Nigeria is also on a procurement reform journey of its own.

Quietly but steadily, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), under the leadership of Dr Adebowale Adedokun, is turning procurement into a national development tool. Just like Kenya, Nigeria is rewriting the rules. And the progress deserves to be noted.

As the Director General of BPP, Dr. Adedokun likes to point out that public procurement is the engine of national development. And it so happens that simultaneously, Nigeria and Kenya are revving up in style.

In Nigeria, procurement accounts for roughly 30 per cent of government spending, delivering roads, hospitals, and schools. Kenya, according to recent figures, saves KES 85.9 billion annually (about 0.9 per cent of its GDP) through its e-procurement system.

To call a spade a spade, both countries have battled procurement fraud and inefficiency. Nigeria, for instance, lost ₦2.9 trillion to fraud between 2018 and 2020 alone, with ₦197 billion flagged in procurement-related irregularities in 2023. However, both countries are now fighting back with bold reforms.

Under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria’s procurement reforms are homegrown and purpose-built. They reflect Nigeria’s complexities, ambitions, and realities.

The BPP’s transformation is not only digital but also institutional and cultural. As Dr. Adedokun puts it, “For every inflated contract, a Nigerian suffers. That’s the pain we’re ending.”

● Digital transformation and smart systems

Kenya’s e-Government procurement system is already delivering results by integrating procurement with iTax and IFMIS platforms. Nigeria’s counterpart is the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO), which aligns with the Open Contracting Data Standard. NOCOPO now allows real-time tracking of procurement activities, with monthly publication of contracts mandated for all MDAs.

To be clear, Nigeria’s systems go even further by leveraging artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies. These tools have been built for Nigeria’s mobile-first infrastructure, ensuring process integrity even in rural or low-connectivity areas. According to Dr. Adedokun, “Our systems are built for Nigeria’s realities, not imported solutions.”

● Efficiency gains

The referenced article in TheCable reported that Kenya had seen significant cost and time savings across counties. To be fair, Nigeria, through its decentralisation policy, has achieved similar results.

Only contracts above ₦5 billion for goods or consultancy and ₦10 billion for works now require Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval. This flexibility has reduced contract processing time by up to 300 per cent.

Additionally, the BPP now handles no-objection requests within 20 working days.

Moreover, from January to 17 June 2025 alone, the Bureau saved ₦173,762,059,693.19, $155,050,600.87, and €1,741,219.71 through price intelligence and cost benchmarking.

● Inclusion and local content

Kenya’s Access to Government Procurement Opportunities [AGPO] initiative reserves 30 per cent of contracts for youth, women, and persons with disabilities. Interestingly, Nigeria’s approach is similarly ambitious but tailored to its diverse procurement landscape.

Through the Affirmative Procurement Initiative and Community-Based Public Procurement, the BPP promotes participation by micro, small, and medium enterprises, women-owned firms, and persons with disabilities.

In tandem, the Nigeria First policy actively prioritises local manufacturing and services. This localisation drive is not merely patriotic; it is strategic. As Dr. Adedokun rightly says, “Every naira spent locally fuels Nigeria’s industrial revival.”

● Capacity building and professionalisation

While Kenya trains its officers through the Kenya School of Government, Nigeria’s strategy centres on the Nigeria Procurement Certification Programme (NPCP).

NPCP is delivered in partnership with six federal universities under the World Bank-supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) programme. Over 7,000 procurement officers have been trained, and mandatory continuous certification is in place.

It is worth mentioning here that in Nigeria, a key innovation is the Procurement Officer Management System, which tracks performance and links officers to specific projects. Procurement is no longer a faceless function. Officers are held accountable.

In this regard, the BPP is also initiating collaboration with relevant institutions to regulate the practice of procurement training in the public sector. This is to ensure that only credible and certified providers offer training that aligns with the national procurement framework.

Furthermore, ethical standards are being reinforced. The BPP is issuing appropriate guidelines that all procurement professionals, whether individuals or corporate entities, must follow. These ethical codes are aimed at professionalising the space and closing the loopholes that previously enabled unethical behaviour.

This effort is complemented by the BPP’s ongoing partnership with relevant professional bodies to embed principles of good governance and integrity within the procurement profession.

● Anti-corruption and accountability

In terms of accountability, while Kenya relies on audit trails, Nigeria combines real-time scrutiny with digital oversight.

The BPP works closely with the EFCC and ICPC, flagging contracts for investigation, recovery, and prosecution where necessary.

Contractors who have inflated costs have been made to make refunds. In Dr Adedokun’s words, “We found fully paid contracts that were inflated. Contractors refunded. It’s no joke.”

Digital tools allow pre-bid reviews, unannounced audits, and strict monitoring. Non-performing contractors are placed on a debarment list. The recently updated Standard Bidding Documents guarantee transparency and ensure fairness in evaluations.

Meanwhile, the BPP now operates squarely as a regulator, not a participant in procurement. All stakeholders, ministries, departments, agencies, and suppliers are required to operate within the framework being established by the Bureau. This is a significant shift and underscores the Bureau’s mandate as both umpire and standard-setter.

As part of the ongoing reforms, the Bureau is also deepening engagement with Nigeria’s Parliament and Judiciary to ensure procurement delivers real value for money. Through procurement surveillance, ongoing audits, and evaluations, and in collaboration with statutory oversight bodies, the BPP is working to institutionalise transparency at all levels of government.

● Citizens as watchdogs

Kenya promotes transparency by making procurement data accessible. Nigeria is doing the same. NOCOPO is public; whistleblower hotlines are active, and civil society is involved. Citizens are encouraged to monitor implementation. Indeed, NGOs have audited major projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Highway.

It needs to be said that procurement is no longer the business of government alone. It is now a shared civic duty.

● Sovereign control and African context

Unlike off-the-shelf systems, Nigeria’s reforms are sovereign and context-specific. The BPP’s collaboration with sub-national governments ensures alignment. Political interference, long a problem in procurement, is tackled not after the fact but at the point of implementation.

The Bureau’s rebranding, which includes the motto “Driving National Development”, reflects a cultural shift. As Dr Adedokun says, “My dream is to make Nigeria the Dubai of Africa through our reformed procurement processes.”

At every step, the BPP is aligning Nigeria’s procurement regime with global best practices. From data standards and open contracting to ethical compliance and digital traceability, the goal is to bring Nigeria’s system in line with the world’s most effective and transparent frameworks.

The confidence in Nigeria’s reform process is also being validated externally. The recent additional funding support from the World Bank and other development partners is a testament to growing international trust in the direction of Nigeria’s procurement evolution.

As a follow-up to that, under the SPESSE programme, the Federal Government, through the BPP, is expected to share its experiences and success stories with other African countries. Nigeria’s reforms are not only for domestic benefit but could also help shape procurement best practices on the continent.

● A shared path forward

Nigeria and Kenya have a lot to learn from each other. Nigeria could scale up digital infrastructure at the sub-national level, like Kenya has done with county governments. Kenya, in turn, could adopt Nigeria’s use of blockchain and AI for process control. Both countries are well positioned to co-lead procurement reforms under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

By 2027, Nigeria plans to deploy sector-specific procurement portals in oil and gas, healthcare, and infrastructure. The journey is far from over, but the signs are promising.

In rounding off, Nigeria, like Kenya, is embracing procurement reforms. The measures being implemented by the BPP are homegrown, ambitious, and anchored in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. With savings of ₦173 billion in the first half of 2025 alone, the results are measurable, and the commitment is visible.

Without equivocation, let it be clearly stated that this is not just about contracts in the abstract sense. It is about functional classrooms where students can actually learn; it is about roads that last beyond the next rainy season, and hospitals that heal those who go there when they are unwell.

As Dr. Adedokun reminds us, “For every inflated contract, a Nigerian suffers. That’s the pain we’re ending.”

It is important that Nigeria stays the course because reforms are never one-off events but continuous processes.

■ Sufuyan Ojeifo, MNGE, is a journalist, publisher, and media consultant based in Abuja.

By Sonny Aragba-Akpore

Early last week,the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) announced a temporary suspension of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card services nationwide to address concerns raised by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on migration of SIM related services to the national platform.
In a statement issued on Tuesday July 1,2025 and signed by ALTON chairman, Gbenga Adebayo an engineer and publicity secretary, Damian Udeh, a lawyer,said the transition, which affects processes such as SIM swap, SIM replacement, new SIM activations, and Mobile Number Portability (MNP), has introduced unforeseen technical challenges, temporarily disrupting real-time identity verification services nationwide.
Although it claimed it was giving such directives on the instructions of NIMC,there are also strong indications that the steps were being taken to forestall and minimize further congestion on the various networks which have continued to experience outages leading to uncomfortable customer experience.
Poor services have been traced to tired and sometimes decaying infrastructure as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are believed to have been traumatized by rising foreign exchange rates,dwindling revenue occassioned by customer aparthy to subscriptions as a result of a comatose economy and unrealistic purchasing power.There are also issues of right of way challenges created by local government and state officials.
While operators emphasize services in the urban and semi urban areas where the economy appears resilient,rural dwellers have been left to bemoan a fate that makes them resort to their own devices to communicate.
Even in the so called urban centres,there are several black spots so much that no urban dwellers can lay claim to robust services and as a result,subscribers are plagued constantly by incomplete calls,drop calls and poor data services.
Except for those who may pretend that all is well,the situation is not as rosy as we imagine.
Strangely,ALTON and its members are helpless.
Even the regulator,the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) appears handicapped as it cannot go beyond dishing out guidelines to improve service delivery in an economy guided by business decisions.
Beautiful as such guidelines and policies may seem,the operators are clearly the ones to determine how fast and far they can run especially since any race or decision is based on funding more so when foreign direct investment (FDI) has been on a steep decline in the last few years.
Although not generally discussed, one critical factor is the shortage of foreign exchange in Nigeria.
Due to paucity of local funding,operators rely heavily on foreign exchange for imported equipment and services—ranging from base stations,towers and routers to software licensing and satellite connectivity, and so foreign exchange sourcing remains a nightmare and operators face delays in importing vital infrastructure components;Costs of equipment rise, especially when they have to source foreign currency from the parallel market at higher rates;Payments to international vendors are delayed, straining business relationships and slowing maintenance or support services; and expanding projects are stalled, as the deployment of 4G and 5G networks is hindered.ALTON stated last week that“this disruption (of SIM service suspension)follows a recent directive from the NIMC, mandating our Mobile Network Operator (MNO) members to transition to a new identity verification platform. The migration process, which is central to the verification required for SIM registration and other services, has unfortunately impacted service availability,”In 2024, the NCC) established comprehensive Quality of Service (QoS) thresholds to enhance the performance of telecommunications services in the country. These standards, outlined in the Nigerian Communications (Quality of Service) Regulations, 2024, and the accompanying Business Rules, set clear expectations for telecom operators across various network segments.
These were enshrined in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Thresholds specifically for operators’ guidance.
The regulations define specific KPIs for 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, focusing on critical metrics such as:
.Drop Call Rate: The percentage of calls that are unexpectedly terminated.
.Call Setup Success Rate: The percentage of calls successfully connected.
.Traffic Congestion: The level of network congestion affecting call and data services.
Operators were required to meet these KPIs to ensure optimal service delivery.
Penalties were also prescribed for failure to comply .
These penalties include a fine of ₦5 million per infraction, plus an additional ₦500,000 for each day the violation persists .
The regulator categorized the country into three priority reporting areas to tailor service quality efforts:
For instance Priority 1 Areas including Lagos, Abuja, Rivers State Require 100% compliance with QoS KPIs.
While priority 2 Areas: Require 80% compliance.
Priority 3 Areas: Require at least 70% compliance.
“This tiered approach ensures that regions with higher demand receive focused attention .”Telecom operators were expected to submit monthly QoS reports to the NCC, detailing their performance against the established KPIs.
“The NCC employs various methods to assess compliance, including drive tests, consumer surveys, and data from Network Operating Centres (NOCs).”
Although the NCC has the authority to impose administrative fines on operators who fail to meet QoS standards but it is not clear how this could be done especially when the operators are handicapped .
The NCC fines range from ₦5 million to ₦15 million per infraction, with daily penalties of ₦500,000 to ₦2.5 million for ongoing violations .
“These regulations aim to improve the overall telecommunications experience for Nigerian consumers by ensuring consistent and reliable service delivery across the country” NCC documents submit.
In reality,poor quality of service is traceable to a myriad of factors including Inadequate Infrastructure which are
Poorly maintained or outdated network infrastructure leading to frequent breakdowns and service interruptions.
There are also insufficient investments in expanding network coverage, especially in rural areas.
The recurrence of poor and
unreliable electricity supply forces telecom operators to rely heavily on expensive generators, increasing operational costs and causing downtime.
High subscriber density without proportional infrastructure expansion causes network congestion, leading to dropped calls and slow data speeds.
Regulatory challenges especially in delays and inconsistencies in government policies and regulatory frameworks hinder timely upgrades and improvements in telecom services.
Lack of efficient customer support and service management contributes to unresolved complaints and customer dissatisfaction.
Frequent vandalism of telecom equipment and theft of cables disrupt network services and increase maintenance costs.
Scarcity of adequate frequency spectrum allocated to operators restricts network capacity and quality.
There is deficiency in expertise through Shortage of skilled technical personnel that affects the maintenance and optimization of telecom networks.
Above all high operational costs and economic instability limit the ability of operators to invest in quality infrastructure.
“Difficult terrain and dispersed populations make infrastructure deployment costly and challenging, impacting service consistency” operators lament.

By Tunde Olusunle

You would think I had personal relationships with Chukwuma Soludo and Alex Otti Governors of Anambra and Enugu states, the way I’ve followed their governance trajectories. I was only doing my job as conscience of society and documenter of history. Soludo I know somewhat because he was Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in whose administration I also served. He was subsequently appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN). We met a few times during meetings he attended in the State House, which I covered as a component of the President’s official secretariat. Otti I never met though. But in two separate essays, *Plaudits for Soludo, Otti and Bago,* and *Soludo, Otti and Prospects for National Integration,* I took specific note of their efforts in prosecuting people-oriented developmental agendas. With Soludo and Otti appointing non-indigenes of their respective states to the pinnacle of the civil service as Permanent Secretary and Head of Service, respectively, I reckoned elsewhere, that national integration was indeed feasible despite our fractious sociopolitics.

Enugu State began to feature in my thoughts in the aftermath of President Bola Tinubu’s visit to the state early January and the jaw-dropping projects he commissioned. I tracked the 2025 budget of the state and discovered it nearly approximated the one trillion naira mark, frantically chasing after established deep pockets like Lagos, Rivers, and now Niger State. Enugu now nestles with Ogun, Delta and Akwa Ibom states, on the column next to the big spenders. A substantial part of what the state intends to spend this year would indeed be generated via internal revenue, which was surprising. When the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE), served notice of its 2025 Biennial Convention for Thursday June 26 to Sunday June 29, with Enugu State as host, I reckoned it was a fitting opportunity for the verification of the good tidings from the famous, primordial headquarters of Nigeria’s South East.

Enugu welcomes you, wide-armed, with smooth, motorable roads as you drive out of the *Akanu Ibiam International Airport.* Your driver is not dodging ditches or running into potholes. Mbah’s government you get to know, has rehabilitated 90 urban roads within his initial two years in office. Very evidently, Enugu has profited from quality leadership all through the past 26 years. The baton passed down from Chimaroke Nnamani, to Sullivan Chime, and thenceforth to Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and more contemporaneously, Peter Mbah, has steadied the state on an upward developmental trajectory. Whereas every dispensation etches its name on the whiteboard of time, the collective interest of the people of the state, are primary. Mbah, soft-spoken, with no airs around him, welcomed us at the formal commencement of the Convention on Friday June 26, 2025, at the very stately, purpose-built *Enugu International Conference Centre,* also developed by his administration within the first two years of his administration. Adjacent this and under fast-paced construction is a 340-room five-star hotel, consistent with growing Enugu into a tourism and conferencing hub. Mbah’s strategic vision indeed is to elevate the economy of his state from its present $4.4Billion to $30Billion in eight years.

The opening ceremony of the Enugu Convention of the Guild of Editors, also had in attendance media heavyweights like *Aremo Olusegun Osoba,* CON, a living legend of the Nigerian media, who edited *Daily Times,* the flagship of the erstwhile Daily Times conglomerate and served as two-time Governor of Ogun State. Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, FNGE, CON, media icon, who holds the record of having edited three major titles in the *Daily Times* stable in his time, *Business Times,* the London based *West Africa* magazine, and the flagship newspaper, *Daily Times* itself, was present. Nonagenarian Sam Amuka-Pemu, publisher of *Vanguard* newspapers, one of the elder statesmen of the profession who was expected, sent his apologies. Proprietor of Channels Television, one of Nigeria’s media bright lights, John Momoh, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, (DSS), Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, were equally in attendance. Media Adviser to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina; long-serving Adviser to Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Hakeem Bello, and Senior Special Assistant, (SSA) to President Bola Tinubu on Media, Tunde Rahman, were present. For the avoidance of doubt, the Enugu Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors could rank as the most enthusiastically attended in recent years, commanding over 400 delegates. It was star-studded.

Typically, the third days of our Conventions are devoted to touring projects executed by our host governments. En route the *Michael Okpara Square* where editors converged before breaking into groups, Enugu residents were seen walking, jogging, exercising on sidewalks across the city in good numbers. It was for me, a reflection of contentment by the people with the leadership of their state. People being owed salaries, benefits, allowances and pensions wouldn’t prioritise exercising when there’s crippling hunger in their homes. It was also a reflection of the people’s confidence in the security regimen emplaced by their government for their safety. I found myself in *Group B* of the tourists, guided by the Secretary to the State Government, (SSG), the US-trained Professor Chidiebere Onyia. Emeritus Editor Ugochukwu, pioneer Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, (NDDC), was our team leader. My colleague and sister from our days in *Daily Times,* Angela Agoawike said that once she sighted Ugochukwu at the Convention, she could swear I was somewhere in the audience!

Mbah’s *Smart Green Schools* which are being replicated in each of the 260 electoral wards in the state, must provoke the envy of many tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Thirty of this prototype have been completed. Under Mbah, education is free and imperative from kindergarten to JSS 3, to avail children of basic education. For starters, computer literacy is compulsory for every student. Side-by-side with approved curricular, Mbah’s vision is for each child, each graduate to acquire specific skills to help them become gainfully self-employed, rather than wait despairingly, for white collar jobs which may be slow in coming, or may never come. Each school has departments or laboratories or workshops for practical teaching of dressmaking, vulcanising and mechanical artisanship, hotel management and so on.

Mbah is as passionate about the agricultural sector and has indeed established a tractor assembly workshop. Completely knocked down parts, (CKDs) are imported and cobbled together in the workshop, ensuring value chain benefits at every intersection. Patrick Nwabueze Ubru the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Allied Industries briefed editors about the vision of the Mbah administration, to establish farm settlements of a minimum of 200 hectares, in each local council area. Each settlement is to grow crops compatible with its soil texture and environment to minimise crop failure. Agro-processing will be vigorously encouraged to ensure that benefits accrue to food producers down the line. The state hopes to have 1000 tractors working across the state in its bid to achieve self-sufficiency and food security. One hundred tractors have been coupled, one of them tested by Ugochukwu. It is expected that a similar number would also have been assembled before the end of the outgoing year.

With video clips of the deployment of cameras across roads in Lagos State which trended recently, it would seem, from what editors were shown in Enugu, that both states are racing for the medal for positively leveraging technology for security management. The *Command and Control Centre,* (CCC), in Government House, Enugu, is a specifically developed facility from where the entire state is monitored. Visible and invisible cameras mounted around and about the state, transmit information, real-time, to the Command Centre. As at the time of our visit to the CCC, 137,000 vehicles had moved around the state or driven through, that very day. The cameras can zoom to the faces of security personnel manning various outposts and pin-down points, and have the capacity to pick their name tags for disciplinary purposes in the event of misconduct in their area of responsibility, (AOR).

Mbah’s precedence demonstrates in graphic, practical terms, that artificial intelligence can be successfully deployed in crime tracking and security management in Nigeria. Every state Governor sincere with the pursuit of the security of his people needs to visit Peter Mbah in Enugu. They need to experience what he has put in place, with the aim of replicating and operationalising same in their domains. The Mbah concept is powered by renewable energy and totally immune from the irascible instability of public electricity. Indeed, unabating insurgency culminating in the loss of the innocent lives of ordinary folks and soldiers, crimes like banditry and kidnapping, genocidal attacks on unsuspecting communities, can be pre-empted and mitigated with the aid of modern technology. It will unmask so-called “unknown gunmen,” outlaws and similar sadists who derive joy in the pain and grief of others.

Governor Peter Mbah treated the Guild to a beautiful gala night, after a day of trekking and climbing projects and sites being developed by his government. Very instructively, classy, top-of-the-range alcoholic beverages and wines were served, demystifying pretentiousness elsewhere. As one who has worked with and followed three Governors and at least one President over the years, one observed Mbah’s genuine resentment for needless exhibitionism. When he got up to address editors at the revelry, he needed no podium before him, no security aide behind him. He was just himself. He capped a beautiful Convention for the Guild by confirming that Enugu State will host the next conference of the body. He can be sure we will be back with our sneakers next time. We would be delighted to continue our project tours from where we took a break from today’s Enugu State, where Peter Mbah is noiselessly taking legendary strides.

*Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja*