WED JULY 22 2026-theGBJournal| President Bola Tinubu administration is making one of its strongest interventions yet to channel public spending towards domestic industry, with the Federal Government mandating that companies bidding for public contracts must meet national quality standards as part of President Bola Tinubu’s “Nigeria First Policy.”
The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Wednesday launched the Digital Standards Platform (DSP), an online portal that provides verified access to Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) and will make standards compliance a prerequisite for federal procurement.
The move is expected to strengthen local manufacturing, improve the quality of government purchases and give compliant Nigerian producers a competitive advantage in securing public contracts.
The Director-General of the BPP, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, described the platform as a joint initiative of the BPP and SON designed to integrate Nigerian Industrial Standards directly into the country’s public procurement system in line with the Nigeria First Policy.
According to him, the policy, conceived by President Bola Tinubu, prioritises goods and services that are made in Nigeria, built in Nigeria and delivered by Nigerians, positioning government procurement as a tool for industrial development rather than merely public expenditure.
“Public procurement is a powerful instrument of economic policy. Every naira spent is a decision about the economy we want to build. The DSP ensures that those decisions are anchored on quality, standards and patriotism,” Adedokun said.
The most consequential policy shift announced at the launch is that the Nigerian Industrial Standards Attestation Certificate obtained through the Digital Standards Platform will now become a mandatory bid document and evaluation requirement for all Federal Government procurement involving goods, works and services covered by applicable Nigerian Industrial Standards.
The requirement effectively raises the compliance threshold for companies seeking government contracts, while giving procuring entities a digital tool to verify whether products and services satisfy national quality benchmarks before awards are made.
Adedokun said the Nigerian Industrial Standards database would, in the coming months, be integrated into the BPP’s electronic marketplace and dedicated Made-in-Nigeria procurement portal, enabling ministries, departments and agencies, as well as contractors and suppliers, to identify, compare, benchmark prices and procure verified standards-compliant local products with greater confidence.
He said the platform would provide an objective basis for verification, promote fairness in public procurement and ensure that only products and services meeting national standards enter public contracts.
The BPP chief urged procuring entities, contractors and suppliers to adopt the platform as their primary reference for standards verification, pledging that the Bureau would fully integrate the system into the procurement ecosystem and work closely with SON to improve its implementation.
Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the launch represented more than a digital solution, describing it as the beginning of a new phase in Nigeria’s quality infrastructure.
“It is the opening of a new era—moving standards from the table to the screen, and from the screen into the daily lives of every Nigerian.
The platform enables ease of doing business and advances the digital government vision,” he said.
Enoh described standards as “the silent architect of prosperity” and “the language of trust,” urging government agencies and stakeholders to integrate with the platform and share data to simplify interactions with businesses.
The Director-General of SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke, said the Digital Standards Platform provides searchable and verified access to Nigerian Industrial Standards, conformity assessment services, compliance tools and other standards-related resources without the need for physical documentation or manual processes.
The launch underscores the Federal Government’s strategy of using its substantial procurement budget to stimulate domestic production, improve product quality and create jobs.
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