On March 7, 2017 the Government of Nigeria (GoN) launched the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) for the period 2017-2020.The ERGP sets out a plan to restore macroeconomic stability in the short-term, as well as structural reforms, infrastructure investments and social sector programs to diversify the economy and set it on a path of sustained inclusive growth over the medium- to long-term. To achieve the objectives of the ERGP, the key execution priorities are:
1) stabilizing the macroeconomic environment;
2) achieving agriculture and food security;
3) ensuring energy sufficiency (power and petroleum products);
4) improving transportation infrastructure; and
5) driving industrialization focusing on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
The ERGP sets the ambitious target of 7 % real GDP growth by 2020, initially driven by the oil sector and then increasingly by strong non-oil sector growth. 4. The ERGP priorities are to be underpinned by a focus on governance and delivery, which have been identified as crucial to the successful implementation of the Plan. One of the focal areas under Governance is reduction in the cost of governance, notably through the public procurement system and sustainable infrastructure development (including environmental and social standards). Poverty level in Nigeria has been increasing not because the country is intrinsically poor but because the available resources have been mismanaged and misused largely due to corruption and lack of appropriate control and oversight systems. One of the main channels of corruption is procurement through which public contracts are usually inflated leading to financial losses to the country. Considering that approximately 60 to 70 % of budget expenditure passes through the procurement process, these losses can be massive. There is therefore a dire need to strengthen procurement institutions and systems to improve transparency and accountability in procurement. A key impediment in achieving efficiency and effectiveness of public investments is the lack of adequate Procurement, Environment and Social (PES) systems capacity in the country which are major factors in improving governance and delivery.