Adebowale Adedokun urges Nigerian lawyers to tackle the country’s infrastructure deficit through specialised procurement law expertise

Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, is calling on Nigerian lawyers to step beyond traditional legal roles and help address the country’s infrastructure crisis.

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Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association’s annual conference in Enugu, he argued that poorly written contracts—not just funding gaps—are a major reason why roads collapse and power projects stall.

He told a room full of legal professionals that Nigeria’s crumbling roads, stalled hospitals, and unfinished power stations were not just due to lack of money—but also due to poorly crafted contracts.

“For any contract or any construction that you sign off on that does not yield end-user satisfaction,” Adedokun said, “that agreement that you drafted is questionable.”

Adedokun is not simply asking for more lawyers. Nigeria already has over 100,000. He’s calling for deep, sector-specific expertise—procurement lawyers who are embedded at every stage of the public contracting process.

Not paper-pushers, but legal professionals trained to screen, draft, negotiate, enforce, and safeguard public interest in high-stakes deals.

In his words, “We need lawyers to be professional in different sectors of our economy. That is my challenge to you.”

Referencing the infamous P&ID case, where Nigeria nearly lost $11 billion over a flawed gas deal, Adedokun argued that stronger legal drafting could have prevented the fiasco.

He also highlighted international examples—countries where lawyers specialise in procurement for IT, health, or infrastructure sectors—saying Nigeria must now move in the same direction.

“Very few lawyers today know about standard bidding documents that govern procurement in Nigeria. Very few,” he noted.

This challenge comes as the BPP rolls out wide-ranging reforms under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda: a new e-procurement system, the Nigeria E-Market, stricter bidding rules, and a contractor blacklist. Each reform, Adedokun noted, depends on legal expertise to survive.

“This is a procurement process, and at every stage, a lawyer is involved… Unquestionably, lawyers are critical,” he said, pointing to slides showing how legal minds must be present from start to finish.

The envisioned procurement lawyer would manage legal risks before they spiral, structure public-private partnerships, draft airtight IT or health contracts, and even enforce sustainability clauses.

This lawyer would interpret frameworks like the UNCITRAL Model Law and ensure Nigeria’s legal commitments are not just decorative but enforceable.

Critics might say Nigeria has no shortage of legal talent—but Adedokun argues what it lacks is legal precision. Breadth isn’t the issue. Depth is.

And for him, procurement law is where that depth could make or break the nation.

“Procurement creates legacies that define our contribution to humanity,” he said.

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That may sound lofty. But with trillions set to flow through Nigeria’s procurement system in the coming years, the contracts will determine whether citizens inherit monuments or mirages.

Source: Read more at theheute.com.ng