Centre advocates e-procurement to curb corrupt practices
By Monday Ijeh
The Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Enhancement Center of Excellence (SPESSECE) has advocated for the adoption of e-procurement processes by government at all levels to curb corrupt practices.
The SPESSECE coordinator for the FCT, Katsina, Jigawa and Sokoto States, Dr Lawal Salisu, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Salisu, who spoke on the sideline of a training programme organised for procurement officers, drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, said SEPESSECE was a World Bank sponsored project.
He said the project was a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government and the World Bank to improve the capacity of federal, state and local government personnel in terms of procurement.
The coordinator said it was also to improve social and environmental standards with a view to ensuring a sustainable procurement process in Nigeria.
He added that the training was a deliberate attempt to educate participants on e-procurement and environmental procurement.
According to him, the conventional way of doing things are more like manual that requires physical meeting and this makes it difficult to curb corruption.
“The more you allow people to meet physically, the more likely you are to have some elements of influence.
“If we change the environmental processes to ensure that there is no physical meeting from the advertisement, handling, analysis and award, corruption will be eliminated.”
The SPESSECE coordinator also said that lack of professionals was a major challenge facing procurement process in Nigeria, adding that, aside the federal government, procurement cadre does not exist in most of the states in Nigeria.
“This is something that has to do with public resources. We require people with academic knowledge and professional certifications.
“People who understand that they will be sanctioned if they mislead the executive on anything that has to do with public procurement,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Deborah Coker
Published By
-
Deputy Editor in Chief,
Multimedia, Solutions Journalism & Website.
Has also recently published
SportsJune 20, 2025Yusuf Quadri: Young Champion Redefining Nigerian Squash
General NewsJune 20, 2025Group charts inclusive path for digital employment in Nigeria
Science & TechJune 20, 2025FG, groups to bridge unemployment gaps among marginalised groups
General NewsJune 18, 2025ITF, SMEDAN, others seek recognition, licensing for artisans
