For much of Nigeria’s modern history, public procurement has worn the reputation of an administrative swamp. It was where good intentions went to lose momentum, where project costs developed suspicious muscles, and where citizens quietly learned to lower expectations. Procurement was not discussed as policy. It was endured as process.
That story, long rehearsed and deeply ingrained, is now being challenged and purposely changed.
Methodically, and with a staunch insistence on discipline, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has spent the last year dismantling the idea that procurement must remain a national bottleneck. Under the leadership of its Director General, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, the Bureau is recasting procurement as something far more consequential. A lever of fiscal prudence. A driver of industrial intent. And increasingly, a tool for inclusive national growth.
As Nigeria steps into 2026, the BPP’s reform journey is best understood not as a victory lap for 2025, but as groundwork deliberately laid. To be clear, last year was about proving that reform was possible. This year is about scaling it, deepening it, and fixing it firmly into the machinery of governance so it survives mood swings, political weather, and institutional fatigue.
● From Savings to Strategy
The clearest signal that procurement has moved closer to the centre of economic governance came from the Presidency itself. In his December 2025 Budget Speech, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu paused to highlight procurement gains in cost savings, improved timelines, and firmer enforcement. This framing mattered. It located procurement reform squarely within the logic of the Renewed Hope Agenda rather than as mere bureaucratic housekeeping.
The headline achievement remains striking. Over ₦1 trillion in documented savings recorded in 2025, a figure that reportedly exceeds the Bureau’s cumulative savings over the seventeen years prior to 2024. Yet what gives this figure weight is not its size alone, but how it is now being understood.
Under Dr Adedokun, savings are treated as released capacity rather than abstract efficiency trophies. When an inflated contract is rightly benchmarked down, the saved funds do not disappear into a spreadsheet footnote. They re-enter the budget as another hospital wing, another school block, another project that would otherwise have remained aspirational. Procurement, in this framing, becomes a fiscal multiplier rather than a passive gatekeeper. It is a move that stands to reason.
This strategic clarity extends to the enforcement of the Nigeria First directive. Government is the single largest buyer in the Nigerian economy. Its purchasing decisions inevitably shape markets, behaviour, and investment choices. The BPP has, therefore, insisted that where quality Nigerian alternatives exist, they must be prioritised.
Without a doubt, this makes logical economic sense. It is certainly not slogan economics. It is procurement with muscle. By ensuring that a significant share of the trillions allocated in the 2026 budget circulates within the domestic economy, the Bureau is helping to sustain jobs, deepen local manufacturing, and reward firms that commit to building capacity at home rather than merely importing invoices.
● Locking Reform into Institutions
One of the quiet strengths of the current reform drive is its attention to durability. Nigeria has seen enough reforms that flourished briefly before collapsing under the weight of personality changes. The BPP is determined to avoid that familiar arc.
A central pillar of this effort is the professionalisation of the procurement workforce itself. World Bank supported certification programmes are now compulsory, with over 2,100 officers already certified and thousands more scheduled for early 2026. The objective is straightforward: to transform procurement from an administrative sideline into a skilled profession governed by shared standards and ethical discipline.
Accountability has also been sharpened. The formal approval of a Debarment Policy empowers the Bureau to blacklist contractors who abandon projects or deliver substandard work, with consequences that extend beyond Nigeria’s borders. In a system long troubled by repeat offenders, this alters incentives in meaningful ways.
To reinforce oversight and technical rigour, the BPP has also forged strategic partnerships with key institutions. Collaboration with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria strengthens quality assurance, while engagement with the Nigerian Bar Association bolsters legal accountability. Each partnership closes a loophole, thickens the reform fabric, and reduces the space for sharp practice.
● 2026 As the Year of Reach and Inclusion
With credibility established, the BPP’s focus in 2026 shifts decisively to reach.
At the heart of this next phase is the rollout of a Nigerian Electronic Government Procurement system. Designed from practical lessons drawn from study tours to other African countries, the e-GP platform aims to reduce discretion, shorten timelines, and create a verifiable digital audit trail for public contracts. This is digitisation with intent, not decoration.
Beyond technology, the Bureau is also preparing to deploy procurement as an instrument of inclusion. Community-Based Procurement is set to ensure that smaller projects directly benefit local economies, fostering ownership, skills development, and community level accountability. Alongside this, the planned enforcement of Women Affirmative Procurement rules seeks to systematically expand access for women-led enterprises that have historically been locked out of public contracting.
Together, these initiatives reflect a mature understanding of procurement’s power. Efficiency alone is not enough. Who participates in the economy government spending creates matters just as much.
There is nothing flashy about procurement reform. It does not lend itself easily to grand speeches or dramatic unveilings. It is not the stuff of viral social media trends. Yet its impact is everywhere when it works. Projects are delivered. Trust inches forward. Public money begins to behave as intended. People in every part of the country begin to feel the impact of real governance.
By converting savings into strategy, embedding reform into institutions that outlast individuals, and widening the circle of economic participation, the Bureau of Public Procurement under Dr Adebowale Adedokun is repositioning itself as a reliable and consequential engine of national growth. In 2026, procurement is where national ambition meets disciplined execution. By deepening the reforms onboarded in 2025, the BPP is ensuring every naira spent by government works in favour of Nigeria and her citizens.
● Sufuyan Ojeifo is a journalist, publisher, and communications consultant.
