BPP

Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP),  Mamman Ahmadu, has urged Permanent Secretaries to get acquainted with procurement processes for a more effective implementation of the Procurement Act.  

According to Janet McDickson, Head Media Unit of the bureau, Janet McDickson, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said the director-general made the call at a recent retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.  

The theme of the retreat was “Strengthening Public Procurement for Optimal Effectiveness”.  

It was aimed at equipping the permanent secretaries with the fundamental principles of procurement to achieve value for money.  

Mamman said that section 20 of the Procurement Act, 2007 placed the permanent secretaries at the heart of the procurement process, as accounting officers in their ministries.  

He said that it was important to guide them appropriately, according to the Act.  

Ahmadu also said that e-procurement was currently being developed by the bureau in collaboration with the World Bank.  

He added that 10 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs) had been selected as pilot procuring entity before the full roll out of the system service wide.  

“Benefits to be derived from the use of e-procurement are tremendous.  

“As drivers of the procurement reforms in your respective ministries, it is important that this information is brought to your attention,” he said.  

He said that tremendous improvements had been recorded in public procurement over the years, while encouraging the permanent secretaries to do more for optimal achievement.  

Also speaking, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Folasade Yemi-Esan said that public procurement played a significant role in achieving socio-economic inclusion of all strata of society.  

She said that the government had the responsibility of ensuring that it paid great attention to public procurement processes.  

“It must also ensure that the award of contracts is handled professionally and in compliance with the best practices,” she said  

She urged the permanent secretaries to use scrutiny and discretion before the award of contract which must be within their approval thresholds, and in conformity with other extant financial regulations.  

“It t is important to know that, liabilities arising from failure to ensure accountability and transparency may not go away even after leaving the office.  

“Accounting officers could be asked to account for their actions and inactions even after leaving office,” she said.  

Nigeria’s federal government said new policies and innovations to alter existing procurement value chain for improved procurement and budget implementations have been introduced.
It said the revised methods included Request for Quotation as well as introduction of electronic documentation and packaging of contract procedures.

The (BPP) Mallam Mamman Ahmadu disclosed this at the weekend while at a two-day retreat for Federal Permanent Secretaries held in Uyo weekend.

The retreat had as it theme, “Strengthening Public Procurement for Optimal Effectiveness.”
According to him, the better understanding of the new thresholds would make procurement implementation much easier for accounting officers and remove prior regulatory scrutiny on the permanent secretaries.

The DG further said the e- procurement system had been developed by the Bureau in partnership with the World Bank and 10 Ministries , Departments and Agencies selected as Pilot Procuring Entities before the full roll out of the e-system service wide.

He emphasised that one of the objectives of the retreat was to improve procurement implementation in Nigeria and ensure effective execution of annual budget.
“It is rewarding to note that tremendous improvements have been recorded in public procurement process over the years.
“However, there is need to do more to maximize on the gains already recorded and to close gaps on the lapses,” he said.

In her remarks, Head of Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi- Esan urged the permanent secretaries to demonstrate commitment towards addressing the capacity gaps of all officers involved in procurement cycles .

“This can be done by ensuring frequent training, retraining, tooling/retooling and Performance assessment.

“In line with international best practices and the peculiarities of procurement processes, we must embrace the emplacement of E-procurement practices and private sector participation.”
Akwa Ibom state governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel said the state government was prepared for reforms of procurement services through the enactment of public procurement laws by the state House of Assembly.

Emmanuel, who was represented by the Deputy Governor Mr. Moses Ekpo stated that the state government had domesticated the regulated procurement culture in the affairs of the state .
“Prior to the enactment of the procurement Act , corruption was in procurement according to reports accounted for large fractions of government total budget.”

SOURCE