A coalition of civil society and regional development organisations has expressed strong support for the Federal Government’s ongoing public procurement reforms, describing them as essential to transparency, fiscal discipline and improved service delivery across the country.
The groups, including the Northern Youth Integrity Group (NYIG), Oduduwa Development Initiative (ODI) and other civil society partners, made their position known at a media briefing in Abuja. They said the reform agenda aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is aimed at addressing long-standing structural deficiencies that have fostered inefficiency, inflated contract costs and abuse within Nigeria’s public spending system.
In a joint address to journalists, the coalition commended the media for its role in promoting accountability and informed public discourse, noting that procurement reforms often generate intense scrutiny and competing narratives due to the vested interests involved.
The organisations stressed that their intervention was neither politically motivated nor driven by personal considerations, but rooted in a sustained commitment to governance reform and the national interest. They argued that Nigeria’s development objectives, including sustainable economic growth, infrastructure renewal and improved public services, cannot be achieved if public procurement processes remain opaque, discretionary and resistant to effective oversight.
According to the coalition, the current reform trajectory is designed to institutionalise professionalism, predictability and transparency within the procurement system, while strengthening value-for-money outcomes in government expenditure. They identified key components of the reforms to include the rationalisation of procurement approval thresholds, strengthened prior-review and compliance mechanisms, standardised bidding and evaluation processes, enforceable sanctions against defaulting contractors, and a gradual transition to a comprehensive electronic procurement framework.
While acknowledging that far-reaching reforms often provoke resistance, the groups said such opposition was inevitable from systems and actors accustomed to weak controls and informal influence. They also distanced themselves from what they described as unsubstantiated allegations and attempts by external actors to exploit civil society platforms to pursue personal or political vendettas against public officials.
The coalition maintained that advocacy must remain evidence-based and responsible, warning against anonymous claims, sponsored narratives and coordinated misinformation campaigns capable of undermining genuine reform efforts under the guise of accountability.
“Our position remains firm,” the groups said, stressing that public procurement reform is a governance imperative that must be protected from politicisation or reversal.
