President Buhari Signed Executive Order No. 5 For Development Of Local Content In Science, Engineering And Technology
In a proclamation entitled “Presidential Executive Order for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology,’’ President Muhammadu Buhari, pursuant to the authority vested in him by the Constitution, signed on Friday, February 2, 2018 the Executive Order No. 5 (“EO5”) by which all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (“MDAs”) of government were directed to engage indigenous professionals in the planning, design and execution of national security projects and maximise in-country capacity in all contracts and transactions with science, engineering and technology components. The Executive Order took effect immediately. The thrust of the EO5 is the recognition of the vital role of science, technology and innovation in national economic development, particularly in the area of promoting Made in Nigeria Goods and Services (“MNGS”). Strategically, the main objectives of the EO5 are the harnessing of domestic talents and the development of indigenous capacity in science and engineering for the promotion of technological innovation needed to drive national competitiveness, productivity and economic activities which will invariably enhance the achievement of the nation’s development goals across all sectors of the economy. These goals have been previously encapsulated in a number of policy documents, such as the Vision 20:2020; National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (NSTIP) first approved by the Federal Executive Council (“FEC”) in 2012; Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, (ERGP 2017 – 2020); Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (STISA) 2024 and 2063; and Nigeria’s targets under the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, (SDG 2030). The EO5 makes certain specific directives which include the following: All procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act, 2007; Where expertise is lacking, procuring entities shall give preference to foreign companies and firms with demonstrable and verifiable plan for indigenous capacity development, prior to the award of such contracts; MDAs shall engage indigenous professionals in the planning, design and execution of national security projects and consideration shall only be given to a foreign professional, where it is certified by the appropriate authority that such expertise is not available in Nigeria; Nigerian companies or firms duly registered in accordance with the laws of Nigeria, with current practising licence shall be lead in any consultancy services involving Joint Venture (JV) relationships and agreements, relating to Law, Engineering, ICT, Architecture, Procurement, Quantity Surveying, and etc.; MDAs shall ensure that before the award of any contract, Nigerian counterpart staff are engaged from the conception stage to the end of the project and shall also adopt local technology that meet set standards to replace foreign ones; The Ministry of Interior is prohibited from giving visas to foreign workers whose skills are readily available in Nigeria; The Federal Government shall introduce Margin of Preference (“MoP”) in National Competitive Bidding, in the evaluation of tenders, from indigenous suppliers of goods manufactured locally over foreign goods (MoP shall be 15% for both international competitive bidding for Goods and domestic contractors for national competitive bidding for Goods. For Works for domestic contractors, the MoP shall be 7.5%); Foreign companies or firms shall not be engaged […]
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NCC Enforces ‘2442’ Short Code to Curb Unsolicited Messages
Following incessant complaints from subscribers regarding unsolicited messages, the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) recently set out to enforce a directive, mandating telecoms operators to dedicate the short code ‘2442’ , thus empowering individuals to take informed decisions on text messages and calls. The Directive was first issued on April 20, 2016, but due to the continuing failure by telecoms operators to comply, the Commission gave a further one-week ultimatum from November 14, 2016 failing which, sanctions would become applicable. The NCC asked the network providers to disemminate the information on the “Do Not Disturb Service via the End of Call Notification” between 8am-8pm daily for at least 45 days from the receipt of the Commission’s letter on the subject. The Commission also admonished them to deploy the said information through every available channel, including social media The Commission also clarified that the following types of information are network generated and therefore do not constitute ‘unsolicited marketing messages’: National security Fire notifications Network maintenance, Program down times, Notifications regarding subscribers’ bundle usage and service renewals The NCC aims to have reached and enlightened at least 50% of consumers on the ‘Do Not Disturb’ (DND) Service at the end of the sensitization exercise. NO MORE IMPORTATION OF VEHICLES THROUGH LAND BORDERS! On 5 December 2016, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) issued a statement banning the importation of vehicles through the nation’s land borders. This prohibition (effective 1st January 2017) covers new and used vehicles and is sequel to a Presidential Directive limiting all vehicle importation to Nigerian to sea ports only. All importers of vehicles were however granted a grace period till 31st December to clear all outstanding vehicle importation in neighbouring ports. So what has the reaction been to this ban? Several stakeholders have decried the ban on the basis that the prices of cars would skyrocket and the small-scale importers who buy cars from Cotonou to sell in Nigeria would be out of business. Others are of the opinion that rather than achieve what it intended, the rate of smuggling would in fact increase as the high tariffs and delays in clearing vehicles imported through the sea would discourage car importers. They therefore advise the government to rather concentrate efforts at battling smuggling, the insincerity of customs officials as well as make the ports more conducive and friendly to vehicle importation before implementing this policy. NAFDAC CONTINUES TO MOP UP IMPORTED FRUIT JUICES NATIONWIDE The National Agency for Food and Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently issued a circular dated December 19, 2016, notifying the general public that effective 1st January 2017, its enforcement officers would visit markets and supermarkets across the country to enforce the ban on the importation of fruit juices in retail packs. This circular is sequel to continuing efforts to enforce a 2003 Federal Government ban which appeared to have been ignored in the last few years, with the proliferation of such products in the markets. The 2003 ban was meant to encourage local production of fruit juices, thus boosting our economy as well as to safeguard the health of consumers. Speaking after a raid of […]
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The mandatory use of the National Identification Number regulations, 2018
Very recently, the National Identity Management Commission (“NIMC”) which is established under the National Identity Management Commission Act, 2007 (the “Act”) released the Mandatory Use of the National Identification Number Regulations, 2017 (the “Regulations”). The Regulations which were made and issued pursuant to the Act have far-reaching effect on the day-to-day activities of every Nigerian and every person residing in Nigeria. The effects are so comprehensive that a person could be barred or prevented from carrying out a wide-range of business related or personal activities until such person obtains and provides a National Identification Number (“NIN”) issued by the NIMC. WHAT IS THE NIN The NIN is a set of unique numbers assigned to each registrable person upon a successful enrolment into the national identity database. The Act defines a registrable person as any person who is a citizen of Nigeria; any person, whether or not he is a citizen of Nigeria, who is lawfully and permanently resident in Nigeria; and any non-citizen of Nigeria who is lawfully resident in Nigeria for a period of two years or more. REGISTRATION FOR NIN The registration by a person to obtain his/her NIN is a continuous process and there is no time frame within which a person must be registered to obtain a NIN. However, given the penal consequences and restrictive effects of not obtaining a NIN, it is advisable that registrable persons obtain their NINs as quickly as possible. The NIMC has set up registration centres in major locations in all the States of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory.
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