FG: Guideline for Implementing Buhari’s Executive Order 5 out Soon

* Fashola unsure China sends prisoners to work in Nigeria

Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The federal government on Thursday disclosed that the guidelines which it will use to fully implement the Executive Order 5 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, to amongst other objectives, protect jobs and revenues created from Nigeria’s economy for Nigerians will be out soon.

Though it did not give the actual timeline when the implementation guidelines would be out, it however explained through the Minister of Water Resource, Mr. Suleiman Adamu, that the monitoring and evaluation council Buhari set up to develop the guidelines was almost done with its job.

Adamu spoke at the 2018 extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the Association of Consulting Engineers in Nigeria (ACEN) in Abuja.

The government’s disclosure on the Presidential Executive Order 5 also followed doubts expressed by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, at the same event that there were Chinese prisoners smuggled into Nigeria by big Chinese firms in the country to work and take away job opportunities from qualified Nigerians.

Buhari, in February signed the Executive Order 5 to improve local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components.

The Executive Order is expected to promote the application of science, technology and innovation towards achieving Nigeria’s development goals across all sectors of her economy.

The president, in line with his constitutional powers, ordered that all “procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007”.

The Order equally prohibits the Ministry of Interior from giving visas to foreign workers whose skills are readily available in Nigeria, but where expertise is lacking, procuring entities will give preference to foreign companies and firms with a demonstrable and verifiable plan for indigenous development, prior to the award of such contracts.

Speaking on the processes being worked out to get the Order functional, Adamu explained that the committee set up by the president to develop the guidelines have submitted its first draft and now about to finalise the document.

He said government’s future investments and spendings in the country would be in railways, harbors and power plants, and thus asked Nigerian engineers to align themselves properly to participate in upcoming jobs and contracts in these sectors.

“A couple of months ago, the president directed that a committee should be formed to prepare the implementation plan for the Executive Order 5, and I happen to be a member of that committee and chairman of the technical subcommittee.

“We have done some draft works and very soon the main committee which is chaired by the minister of science and technology will sit down and bring out all these,” said Adamu.

He further stated: “The Executive Order 5 was initiated by the Buhari administration to ensure that all aspects of our economic developments are catered for and driven by Nigerians. It will allow for Nigerian professionals to be fully engaged in all infrastructure development projects that we are doing and our manufacturing sector taken care of.”

According to him, “We expect that all the monies that are being spent in our infrastructure, that Nigerians will be fully involved.

“Now the president set up a ministerial committee to work out the guidelines on how to implement it. We have produced a draft which the committee will look at very soon and after that, we will present to the president at which point if it is acceptable, it will be circulated to the ministries and parastatals so that the implementation will be smooth.”

“The point is so that there will be no ambiguities or confusions, it is always good to have a guideline. We want to get hold of our economic development just like other countries do,” Adamu added.

Meanwhile, Fashola has said claims that Chinese firms in Nigeria could be habouring workers originally serving prison terms in their home countries within their workforce in Nigeria were subjective and unconfirmed.

He equally suggested the loan conditions given to Nigeria by China may include the use of certain number of Chinese labour to execute infrastructure projects in the country, adding that it was necessary for Nigeria to upgrade its influence in the world by developing her economy such that it could equally take such decisions in its engagements with the rest of the world, especially countries it would lend money to.

“We don’t need to generalise, there is so much unverifiable news out there about this. How many people could they possibly have in jail in their country? Can there jail produce so much people? We need to be careful about some of these.

“What is important is that we must understand that we get funding from these countries and across the world, the man who pays is king, it is the truism of life. They have Exim Bank, we have Exim bank, and by the time our nation prospers, you know what is going to happen: all of you will be working in those countries that we will grant aids to, we will export capacities out. We must engage them smartly,” Fashola said.

Similarly, the President of ACEN, Mr. Charles Akindayomi, explained in his remarks that the Executive Order 5 was a good development for engineers in the country. He added that his association will engage the government’s agencies to ensure they make the most of the Order.