By Nana Musa
The Director-General (D-G) of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr Adebowale Adedokun, has reiterated the bcommi’s commitment to transparency, professionalism, and accountability in public procurement.
Adedokun stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at a national stakeholders interactive workshop with professional bodies in Nigeria on the current trends in procurement practices and their roles in procurement reforms.
He said public procurement played critical functions of government, and was a mechanism through which public resources were utilised to deliver goods, works, and services that met the needs of citizens.
“We are all aware that public procurement systems are often vulnerable to inefficiencies and corruption.
”Hence, the need to continuously reform to ensure that our procurement systems are transparent, competitive, cost-effective, and aligned with international best practices.
“Today’s workshop is part of our renewed strategy to foster collaboration with stakeholders that are key to the implementation of our renewed public procurement reform.
“With a view to addressing the challenges of the emerging trends in public procurement practices,”Adedokun said.
According to director-general, it also provides us the opportunity to highlight the pivotal role professional bodies play in driving these reforms forward,”
The D-G said that the professional bodies in the country were indispensable to the nation’s economic and infrastructural development.
Adedokun said through standard setting, advocacy, capacity building, and direct project involvement, “you have ensured professionalism, driven innovation, and fostered sustainable growth across key sectors.
“You have provided technical expertise, project management skills, and governance frameworks that improve the efficiency and sustainability of infrastructure delivery,” Adedokun said.
According to him, professional bodies occupy a unique position in the public procurement ecosystem.
The D-G said that as custodians of ethical standards and technical expertise, their contributions are invaluable in the procurement process.
Adedokun said that they served as advocates for professionalism, champions of innovation, and partners in fostering accountability.
He said that professional bodies had unique roles to play in ensuring that public funds were used effectively for the greater good.
“As is applicable in other climes, we hope to establish and sustain partnerships that will lead to professional bodies playing critical roles in the following professional procurement functions.
“Enforcement of ethical standards and sanctions, procurement monitoring and evaluation, procurement audit and surveillance, review of procurement policies, guidelines, development of procurement standards.
“Promoting best practices in public procurement, advocacy and policy Influence, provision of mentorship programmes for junior procurement officers, research and knowledge Sharing.
“More importantly, your professional contribution will be in high demand in our drive to develop and implement sector-based procurement policies,” the D-G said.
