About 57 percent of technology products procured by Nigerian government agencies and corporate organisations are refurbished equipment sold as new, according to Leo Stan Ekeh, founder and chairman of Zinox Group, who has called for stronger sanctions and digital verification systems to tackle the practice.
Ekeh made the disclosure at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) during a session titled “E-Commerce and Procurement: Transforming Public Contracting through Digital Systems, Transparency and Local Capacity Development.”
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According to Ekeh, the problem is driven partly by the failure of government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and businesses to respect the legitimate local partnership structures established by global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
He described the practice of procuring refurbished equipment and presenting it as brand new as fraudulent, arguing that firms found culpable should face appropriate sanctions.
The revelation comes as Nigeria increases investment in digital infrastructure and seeks to use technology to modernise public services, improve productivity and accelerate the development of a digital economy.
Ekeh, who has spent more than four decades working with global technology companies including HP, IBM, Dell, Cisco and Microsoft, said Nigeria’s procurement culture must move beyond an obsession with foreign brands and focus more heavily on authenticity, quality, value for money and local capacity.
He argued that the pursuit of foreign technology brands does not necessarily guarantee better quality, particularly where procurement systems fail to verify whether equipment supplied is genuinely new.
The Zinox founder said Nigerian technology companies with the capacity to deliver internationally competitive products and services are often overlooked despite having the technical expertise and infrastructure required to support major national projects.
Through Zinox Technologies, Ekeh pioneered what he described as Nigeria’s first internationally certified computer manufacturing facility and participated in major technology deployments, including the country’s digital voter registration exercise and ICT infrastructure projects across Africa.
He therefore urged stronger implementation of the Federal Government’s Nigeria First Policy, with MDAs giving greater consideration to qualified indigenous technology companies and locally developed solutions while maintaining internationally recognised standards.
The policy, he said, should not mean lowering procurement standards but creating a level playing field where capable Nigerian companies can compete with international suppliers.
Ekeh also identified digital procurement as a critical tool for reducing fraud and improving accountability in public contracting.
He advocated wider deployment of e-procurement platforms, government cloud infrastructure, data protection systems and digital audit trails that would allow procurement transactions to be tracked and independently verified.
Such systems, he said, could make it more difficult for suppliers to substitute products, conceal the origin or condition of equipment, or manipulate procurement records.
The concerns are particularly significant for government technology purchases, where defective, obsolete or refurbished equipment sold as new could undermine critical public infrastructure while exposing taxpayers to unnecessary costs.
The session also highlighted the changing role of legal practitioners as technology becomes increasingly embedded in public procurement.
Ekeh said lawyers must develop stronger digital competence and understand the technological, regulatory and compliance issues surrounding electronic procurement, data protection and digital contracting.
The session was led by Adebowale Adedokun, director-general of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), with other speakers including Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general and chief executive officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Fatai Idowu Onafowote, director-general of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency; Sanusi Aminu Yero, director-general of the Kaduna State Public Procurement Authority; and Andrew Osemedua Odom, SAN. Faith Amarachi Okpara coordinated the session.
Ekeh’s warning comes at a critical point in Nigeria’s digital transformation drive, as government and businesses increasingly depend on computers, networking equipment, cloud infrastructure and other digital technologies to deliver services.
Beyond the immediate issue of refurbished equipment, the disclosure raises broader questions about how Nigeria verifies technology supplied under public contracts, whether procurement officers have sufficient technical capacity to authenticate products, and how much value taxpayers receive from technology spending.
For Ekeh, Nigeria’s digital ambitions will remain constrained unless procurement is built around authenticity, transparency and value rather than simply the prestige associated with foreign brands.
He said technological independence should ultimately become part of Nigeria’s broader economic independence, arguing that the country cannot claim to be truly independent while remaining excessively dependent on foreign technology and procurement systems.
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