Members of the Iron Rod and Steel Distributors Employers Union of Nigeria (IRSDEUN) have urged Nigerian government to pay due attention to standardization of production of commodities, especially in the construction industry, noting that, that’s the only condition that the implementation of the ‘Nigeria First’ Policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can truly be successful.
National President of the union, Chief Gbenga Awoyale, said this in a statement he made available to journalists in Ilorin.
According to him, ‘while the Nigeria First policy is a step in the right direction, it may remain an abstract idea if the needful is not done in the area of quality control of commodities production, as Nigerians should not be exposed to the hazard of inferior products that endangers their lives’.
IRSDEUN noted in the statement that the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), as presently constituted, lacks the capacity to effectively enforce quality control, which would be the basis for registration of high quality local suppliers, as evidenced from the iron Rod and steel market and others have proven.
‘Before the Nigerian government implement Nigeria First policy, our believe is that we should first ascertain the production quality, so that our people’s safety is guaranteed; that’s how to keep Nigerians first.
‘Many of these suppliers and their accomplices in government ministries, departments and agencies would criminally cross the ‘high quality register hurdle and only supply substandard products that exposes Nigerians to great risk. That has been our experience in this industry’, the statement said.
It also noted that,’Hundreds of houses are collapsing everyday with the use of made in Nigeria iron rod and steel products, yet the agency that should see to raising the bar of production has done practically nothing. Are these the same people that we expect to ascertain the production quality of goods to be patronized under Nigeria First policy?’, he queried.
Awoyale further said that Nigerian producers have capacity to deliver quality products at reasonable prices, stressing however, that, ‘they take advantage of the corrupt system to saturate Nigerian markets with substandard products at high cost, while they supply high quality products to neighboring countries because the system there won’t compromise their people’s safety over immediate gains of officials’.
The Union therefore called on President Tinubu to ensure that the market is rid of inferior products and develop a framework to consistently ensure quality control, before implementing the policy, to avoid a counterproductive effect.
‘It is a good intention predicated on a bad precedence that must be corrected before it can be productively applied’, the statement noted.
Earlier, President Tinubu had secured Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of the Renewed Hope Nigeria First policy that mandates all federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to give absolute priority to Nigerian goods, services and know‑how when spending public funds at Monday FEC meeting, according to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Under the new rules, the Bureau of Public Procurement has been directed to revise and enforce new guidelines to favour local manufacturers and service providers, which is expected to birth a Local Content Compliance Framework, maintain a register of high‑quality Nigerian suppliers regularly engaged by government, and once again assume full authority over the deployment of procurement officers to every MDA.
All MDAs, in turn, are barred from buying any foreign good or service that is ‘already available locally’ unless the BPP issues a written waiver. Where no viable Nigerian option exists, contracts must contain clauses for technology transfer, local production, or skills development, mirroring quota rules in the Sugar Master Plan that reward firms investing in backwards integration.
