Prioritise local content, FG orders MDAs

File: The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh

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The Federal Government on Tuesday announced a plan to enforce local content across Nigeria’s non-oil economy, directing Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to prioritise indigenous companies, homegrown technologies, and locally sourced materials in all science and engineering-related projects.

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, issued the directive in Abuja during the official presentation of 13 patent certificates to Nigerian inventors facilitated by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion.

Udeh said the implementation team for the Presidential Executive Order 5, working with NOTAP, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and all relevant MDAs, had been ordered to “execute the comprehensive framework to institutionalise local content across the non-oil and gas sectors.”

“I am issuing a clear directive to the Strategy Implementation Task Force for Presidential Executive Order 5 in collaboration with NOTAP and all relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to execute the comprehensive framework to institutionalise local content across the non-oil and gas economy of Nigeria.

“The future will not be shaped by nations with the most oil, but by those with the best ideas. We are now moving Executive Order 5 from policy aspiration into an enforceable economic reality that empowers our businesses, creates jobs, and builds a resilient, diversified economy,” he said.

The strategic framework will provide clear guidelines for implementing Presidential Executive Order 5, as outlined in the approved Federal Government Gazette.

The framework aims to foster the development of new sectors across the Nigerian economy, spanning advanced manufacturing, construction, digital infrastructure, and renewable energy, ensuring that local content and indigenous expertise are prioritised in all projects.

“The strategic framework will apply a guideline for implementation of the Presidential Executive Order 5, as contained in the approved federal government gazette, to create new sectors from advanced manufacturing and construction to digital infrastructure and renewable energy. This will establish clear guidelines to prioritise Nigerian professional companies, locally sourced materials, and indigenous services in all public projects and procurement with science, engineering, and technology components.”

The minister added that an amendment to the Executive Order is undergoing final review and will soon receive presidential assent as a legally binding instrument.

Udeh told the 13 awardees that their new patents must translate into viable industries, insisting that the Tinubu administration will no longer celebrate inventions that end on shelves.

“A patent is a promise, not a product,” he said. “Under my leadership, we will move beyond recognition to active commercialisation. Hold me accountable. Our goal is to ensure Nigerian inventors become Nigerian industries contributing to the GDP.”

He announced that the Ministry and NOTAP will provide tailored support to each inventor, linking them directly with partners capable of taking their innovations to market.

According to him, the 13 innovators, including a serving military officer, represent “the vanguard of Industry 5.0 in Nigeria.”

Udeh also outlined plans to deepen collaboration between research institutions and industry, explaining that Executive Order 5 and the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (2022) mandate universities to run aggressive commercial units rather than academic archives.

According to him, Nigeria must transition from a resource-based economy to an innovation-driven knowledge economy to compete globally.

“Technology must be born in Nigeria, made in Nigeria, and exported from Nigeria,” he said. “Today is not the end but a powerful beginning, Nigeria’s strategic journey to claim its place in the age of Industry 5.0.”

Earlier, NOTAP Director-General Obiageli Amadiobi described the event as a milestone for the country’s innovation ecosystem, noting that the agency had facilitated more than 400 patents at no cost to inventors since inception.

She said NOTAP’s role extends beyond patenting to the establishment of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices in universities and research institutions, encouraging academia to focus on problem-solving research rather than purely theoretical work.

“We cannot keep importing technologies from outside. Today’s patents represent homegrown solutions capable of meeting industrial needs,” she said, adding that NOTAP’s partnerships with WIPO and the Patent Registry have strengthened IP protection for Nigerian innovators.

The move comes as part of the federal government’s broader push to reduce reliance on imported technology, empower Nigerian businesses, and create jobs, while positioning the country as a competitive player in the global knowledge and innovation economy.

The framework is expected to transform research outputs into commercially viable solutions, linking universities, research institutes, and private sector industries to stimulate industrialisation and sustainable development.

A business, investment, infrastructure and property correspondent currently with The PUNCH, Aina is a media professional with over three years experience

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