It is no
more business as usual for erring public officers, as the Federal Government
has unfolded plans to sanction officers, who failed to comply with
the
provisions of the public procurement law.
The
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Gida Mustapha, at the
second batch of Procurement Conversion Training, in Lagos, organised by the
Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), said: “Permit me to stress the fact that
government can no longer accept a situation where public procurements become a
source of frequent embarrassment to the nation. They do not help the nation’s
image; neither do they inspire the confidence of the citizenry in government.
“Let me
therefore state here that government will not hesitate to invoke all sanctions
of the Public Procurement Act 2007 against any public officer who contravenes
any provision of the law. It might interest you to know that the ICPC and the
EFCC are currently investigating cases of infractions which include but not
limited to collusion amongst bidders, use of fake documents, false claims by
contractors and suppliers, and manipulation of the procurement process.
“Any public
officers found to have colluded with unscrupulous contractors, consultants, or
service providers to defraud or shortchange the Federal Government shall be
dealt with in accordance with the law. I therefore urge all public officers
involved in the public procurement process to conduct themselves with the
highest sense of responsibility, accountability, ethics and integrity.”
Mustapha,
who was represented by BPP Director, Lagos Liaison Office, Dr. Sade Caiafas,
explained that the training will gear procurement officers towards full
compliance with Public Procurement Act 2007, especially in those agencies
located outside Abuja, where the BPP regular oversight may be difficult to
implement.
He said: “I
need to stress that, even though a lot of progress has been made in the ongoing
procurement reforms, a lot of work still needs to be done. At different levels
of government, there is still resistance to reform and government has continued
to receive reports of malpractices in the procurement processes of government
agencies who have chosen not to follow due process in conducting their
procurement.”
The Director
General, BPP, Mamman Ahmadu, noted that with Nigeria being a signatory to the
United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), makes it more
preponderant that all hands must be on deck to see to it that Nigeria escapes
from the throes of corruption which is often perpetuated on the heels of public
procurement activities.
He said: “globally,
public procurement is recognised as a tool for good governance considering the
immense benefits derivable from a sound procurement system and its role in the
prevention of corruption. The BPP’s prior review of contracts awarded by MDA’s
has saved the nation huge sums. Nevertheless, more than these savings, the
procurement system has become sanitised, earning the nation a more positive
image.
“In line
with Nigeria’s country statement made by Mr. President at the 2016 London
Anti-Corruption Summit and the country’s commitment on open government
partnership, the Bureau has just developed an Open Contracting Portal named
NOCOPO which won a global government innovation award in the area of Open
Contracting in 2017.
“In other
words, this signifies an era of increase transparency and the drive of this
government to ensure better accountability in the area of public expenditure
management.
“Therefore,
this training is part of the programme of the Bureau to build the institutional
capacity of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) of the Federal
Government to implement procurement reforms. “
The training
which is expected to hold for the next two weeks, has resource persons drawn
from both the Bureau and other agencies of government, and is aimed at bringing
procurement personnel in the MDA’s to the same page with their counterparts in
other parts of the world.
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