The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has disclosed plans to deepen the participation of women-owned engineering firms in government contracts through Nigeria’s emerging National Policy on Affirmative Procurement.
The BPP Director-General, Adebowale Adedokun, represented by the Head of its Energy Infrastructure Department, Eugenia Ojeah, made the disclosure at the 2026 International Conference, Exhibition and Annual General Meeting of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria in Abuja.
The conference, themed “Designing Adaptive Systems: Engineering Energy, Building Net-Zero, Delivering Tomorrow’s Infrastructure,” is holding from September 21 to 25 at the Chida Event Centre, Utako, Abuja.
Adedokun said affirmative procurement was being developed as a framework for using public purchasing to promote economic inclusion, enterprise development and broader participation in national development.
“More than ever before, the need for Affirmative Procurement has become expedient because it serves as a veritable tool to deliver the dividends of governance to all citizens,” he said in a goodwill message delivered on his behalf.
According to him, women-owned businesses continue to face barriers including limited access to finance, inadequate technical capacity and historical exclusion from large-scale contracts.
He stressed that the proposed policy would not mean awarding contracts without regard to competence, but would create mechanisms through which eligible businesses could compete more effectively.
“It does not imply preferential treatment without merit; rather, it aims to expand opportunities, strengthen supplier diversity and build the capacity of target groups to compete effectively within the procurement system,” Adedokun said.
The development is part of a broader BPP effort to institutionalise affirmative procurement for groups that have historically faced barriers in accessing public contracts.
The bureau has previously said the policy would cover women-owned businesses, youth-led enterprises, persons with disabilities, startups and other disadvantaged groups, while operating within the existing public procurement framework.
At the conference, APWEN President, Chinyere Nnenna Igwegbe, said women engineers must be positioned at the centre of Nigeria’s infrastructure development as the country responds to climate change, energy transition, urbanisation and emerging technologies.
Igwegbe said adaptive infrastructure should be designed to withstand shocks, respond to changing demand and remain relevant as climate and economic conditions evolve.
“Nigeria, and indeed Africa, cannot be a spectator in this transition. We must be designers of it. And women engineers must be at the very centre of that design table, not at its margins,” she said.
She called for stronger collaboration among government, industry, academia, professional bodies, development partners and communities, noting that Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges could not be solved by one institution or profession.
“When you support a woman engineer, you do not support one person; you strengthen an entire profession and uplift a whole community,” she added.
Former Minister of Aviation, Babatunde Omotoba, said Nigeria must begin designing infrastructure as interconnected systems capable of responding to changing circumstances.
He cited the installation of total radar coverage and an aircraft sequencing system in the Nigerian airspace in 2009 as an example of an adaptive system using real-time information to improve safety and efficiency.
Omotoba also called for a realistic approach to Nigeria’s energy transition, arguing that environmental objectives must be balanced with the country’s immediate electricity needs.
Representing Nigerian Society of Engineers President, Ali Alimasuya Rabiu, Patricia Nekpen Opene-Odili said climate pressures and evolving energy systems required Nigeria to deliberately design its future.
She urged APWEN to continue strengthening mentorship and leadership development for women engineers across the profession.
