The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that the Federal Government spends more than N2tn on the purchase of goods every year.
According to the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Mr. Chuks Okocha, Saraki said this on Thursday when members of the Leather and Allied Products Manufacturers’ Association of Abia State visited him.
The visit of the APMAA was premised on the support of the Senate and the Federal Government of their campaign for the patronage of locally-made goods in order to cut dependence on foreign goods.
At the meeting, Saraki said the National Assembly would henceforth punish any ministry, department or agency which violates the Public Procurement Law.
The law mandates the MDAs to give preference for locally-produced goods, especially during this period when the Federal Government has been campaigning for the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria goods.
The Senate President also charged the Senate committees’ chairmen to ensure that the MDAs comply with the Public Procurement Law.
He also encouraged all military and paramilitary agencies to emulate the Nigerian Army by procuring items like boots and other locally-made goods so that a large part of the N2tn that the government spends annually in the purchase of goods ends in the pocket of Nigerian manufacturers.
He said, “We will make the campaign to buy Made-in-Nigeria goods to go beyond a trade fair and become a national agenda for all Nigerians. Today, we have made it a national project.
“I also promise you that we will amend the existing laws to give your efforts a solid legal backing that will ensure patronage for your products and that of other local manufacturers. That has also been done with the amendment of the Public Procurement Act.”
The APMAA coordinator, Chief Ben Hart, commended the Senate for its support in promoting locally-made goods.
He said, “We shall continue to improve on the quality of locally-made goods. Goods produced in Aba are indeed of high quality. There is nothing that can be manufactured elsewhere which cannot be produced in Aba.”
