The Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards (SPESSE), a World Bank-funded project, has strengthened Nigeria’s procurement reforms through a novel certification programme introduced by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
This is according to a statement by Zira Nagga, Head of Press and Public Relations, BPP in Abuja on Wednesday.
Nagga said that the Nigeria Procurement Certification Programme (NPCP), introduced by the BPP, was designed as a professional procurement registry open to all citizens practising procurement across the public and private sectors.
He said that SPESSE, through the certification programme, had made significant contributions to procurement reforms by producing a new crop of skilled procurement professionals.
According to him, the programme, implemented in partnership with the BPP, establishes a nexus between the certification programme and key components of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
“It also establishes a nexus between the “Nigeria First Policy”, debarment policy, affirmative procurement, community procurement, sector-based procurement and the use of standard bidding documents, among others,” he said.
Nagga said that ahead of the convocation ceremony of the first cohort of graduates scheduled for Jan. 29, no fewer than 2,100 graduates, including participants from foreign countries, would be awarded certificates.
“The SPESSE certification programme has equipped procurement professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage public procurement processes effectively, promoting transparency and accountability,” he said.
He said that the knowledge acquired from the programme had enhanced compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007 and other regulatory frameworks, thereby reducing the risk of corruption and promoting good governance.
Nagga said that the certification programme had improved participants’ understanding of streamlined procurement processes, leading to reduced procurement timelines and costs, as well as improved overall efficiency in public procurement.
“The SPESSE programme has strengthened the capacity of the BPP to regulate and oversee public procurement, promoting transparency and accountability.
“The programme’s focus on sustainable procurement practices has promoted environmentally and socially responsible procurement, contributing to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals.
“By promoting transparency, accountability and efficiency in public procurement, the SPESSE programme has contributed to Nigeria’s economic growth and development.”
Meanwhile, the Director-General (D-G), BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, described the SPESSE certification programme as a game-changer for Nigeria’s procurement reform.
“The SPESSE certification programme has equipped procurement professionals with the knowledge and skills to manage public procurement processes effectively, promoting transparency and accountability.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the World Bank on the SPESSE project to further strengthen our procurement systems,” Adedokun said.
He said that the SPESSE was more than a training programme, but also a deliberately engineered architecture for human capital transformation.
“It embeds procurement in our academic institutions and in our national psyche as a profession worthy of respect and central to development outcomes.
“At the heart of this architecture are our six SPESSE Centres of Excellence at the University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
“The others are University of Benin, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.”
The D-G said that each centre fulfilled a distinct strategic purpose, collectively forming a network of national capability.
He said that the SPESSE project had made significant contributions in the environmental and social standards components of the project.
He also commended the World Bank for its commitment as demonstrated through its funding support(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman
