It is imperative to strengthen public procurement practices and reforms processes in Nigeria for the advancement of transparency, accountability, cost effectiveness, professionalism that brings good governance and national development.
The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, MCIPS, ACFE, made this known during a 2-day interactive workshop with the Civil Society Organizations and Professional Bodies on the current trend in procurement practices and their roles in procurement reforms, held at the UBEC Digital Resource Center, Abuja.
The DG in his welcome address stated that, in the realization of the objectives of the Public Procurement System which geared towards transparency and accountability, of which public procurement serves as a vital tool through which public resources are utilized to deliver goods, works, and services that meet the needs of citizens; therefore, there is obvious need for continuous reform to rid of inefficiencies and corruption in the procurement system in line with international best practice.
He said that, the workshop is an avenue to foster collaboration with the stakeholder of different professional bodies for the implementation of BPP renewed public procurement reforms and to address challenges that revolves current trends in procurement practices. As professional bodies occupy a unique position in the procurement system, there should be a strong synergy between the CSO, professional bodies and BPP for a maximum performance.
The DG highlighted some of the initiatives and policies put in place by the Bureau to strengthen the procurement system such as:
Continuous inter agency collaboration with anti-corruption agencies like EFCC, ICPC, AUGF, NFIU, CCB, NEITI, to fight against corruption in procurement and public finance management system. Other initiatives are
• E- Government procurement system:
• Deployment of E-Advertisement module for publication of all advertisement on BPP’s website
• Capacity Building programs
• Affirmative procurement
• Nigeria open contracting portal (NOCOPO)
• Revised Standard Bidding Document
• Community base procurement
The new reform has brought a paradigm shift in procurement ecosystem and BPP is pragmatic in proffering solutions and would not condone any wrongful procurement practices as everyone involve in procurement will be held accountable for their procurement proceedings.
The Hon. Minister of Information & National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, fnipr, represented by Director of Public Relations and Protocol of the Ministry, Dr. Suleiman Haruna, in his goodwill message, commended the DG BPP in his reform initiatives and reiterated government stance on zero tolerance for corruption. Adding that, public access to procurement data can deter abuse and encourage civic oversight, as he pledged his support in public communication and citizen engagement. Other agencies ably represented are Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), European Union Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (EU/ROLAC), in their goodwill messages commended the DG BPP and pledge their support for seamless procurement processes.
Some of the Professional Bodies present are: Nigeria Society of Engineers; Nigerian Institution of Surveyors; Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria; Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors; Nigeria Computer Society; Association of Facilities Management Practitioners of Nigeria; Council Charted Insurance if Nigeria; Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers; Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria; Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria; and Consulting Architects of Nigeria.
The Interactive workshop underscores various action plans to be taken such as Disciplinary measures; stringent verification of expired license; interlink between Professional Bodies, CSO and BPP; and policy framework that guides professionals in procurement system.
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