Digitnomics 
Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, has called on the Federal Government to give qualified Nigerian businesses greater consideration in public procurement, arguing that doing so could help strengthen local technology capacity, create jobs and accelerate the growth of the digital economy.
Ekeh made the call at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), where he spoke during a high-level session on “E-Commerce and Procurement: Transforming Public Contracting through Digital Systems, Transparency and Local Capacity Development.”
He described the Nigeria First Policy as an important tool for supporting Nigerian entrepreneurs and building businesses capable of competing beyond the domestic market.
According to him, government Ministries, Departments and Agencies should prioritise locally developed goods, services and technologies where the required capacity exists, while ensuring that Nigerian companies continue to meet appropriate quality and performance standards.
Ekeh argued that sustained reliance on foreign providers could make it difficult for indigenous businesses to achieve the scale and investment required to develop competitive products and services.
He said public procurement could serve a broader economic purpose beyond the acquisition of goods and services by creating a reliable market for local innovators and encouraging investment in technology, skills and production capacity.
He also called for stronger enforcement of the Nigeria First Policy, including sanctions by the Bureau of Public Procurement against entities that fail to comply with applicable procurement rules.
Ekeh stressed that policies aimed at developing local capacity would have limited impact without effective implementation and enforcement.
The session also examined how digital systems could reshape public procurement, with discussions around e-procurement platforms, government cloud infrastructure, data protection and digital audit trails.
Participants noted that greater use of digital systems could improve transparency and accountability by creating clearer records of procurement decisions and transactions, while also making it easier to track compliance and identify irregularities.
The speakers also highlighted the changing role of lawyers as public procurement becomes increasingly digital. Legal practitioners, they noted, would need greater understanding of technology, data protection, digital contracts and regulatory requirements as they advise government and businesses.
Other speakers at the session included the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Adebowale Adedokun; Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi; Director-General of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Fatai Idowu Onafowote; Director-General of the Kaduna State Public Procurement Authority, Sanusi Aminu Yero; and Andrew Osemedua Odom, SAN.
The session was coordinated by Dr Faith Amarachi Okpara, Vice Chairman of the Data Privacy Lawyers Association of Nigeria.
Ekeh’s comments come amid efforts to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported technology and deepen local participation across the country’s digital economy.
He clarified that prioritising Nigerian businesses should not mean eliminating foreign competition, but ensuring that qualified local companies have opportunities to build scale, develop expertise and invest in innovation.
For technology companies developing solutions to local challenges, greater participation in public procurement could provide the market and revenue needed to expand operations, employ more people and improve their products.
Ekeh argued that, with effective implementation, the Nigeria First Policy could turn government procurement into a tool for developing Nigeria’s technology ecosystem rather than simply a mechanism for purchasing goods and services.
The broader discussion reflected the NBA conference theme, “Beyond Limits,” with participants stressing the need for Nigeria to move beyond dependence on foreign technology and build stronger domestic capabilities in innovation, manufacturing, digital services and intellectual property.
For Ekeh, the objective is not to shield Nigerian businesses from global competition, but to give capable indigenous companies the opportunity to become strong enough to compete effectively in the global market.
