By Okeoghene Akubuike

Sen. George Akume, Secretary of the Government of the Federation(SGF), has inaugurated the Nigeria Procurement Certification Portal to standardise and professionalise procurement certification in Nigeria.

Akume, represented by Mr Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, inaugurated the portal in Abuja on Wednesday.

He warned procurement officers to adhere to the standards of professionalism or be held accountable if found culpable.

“The Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Programme which is being launched today, represents a strategic step towards institutionalising professionalism in procurement, environmental and social standards management.

“ The investment by the government in the recruitment of the procurement ecosystem is proof of faith in the capacity of the public sector to drive development in Nigeria in an efficient, transparent, corruption-free environment.

“ We must, however, sound a strong note of warning to all procurement officers whose acts of omission or commission may result in the loss of public funds or misuse of procurement.

“We will be held accountable. Public service is in trust, and we must guard it with utmost integrity.”

Edun, in his remarks, said that having international certification through the programme would help reverse the Japa syndrome.

“By the time you have international certification and you can provide services online, over the internet, internationally, then young Nigerians can stay in Nigeria.

“They can provide services, training, consulting, business support whilst staying in their own country, enjoying Nigeria and earning funds internationally.”

Dr Adebowale Adedokun, Director–General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), said the programme was in a bid for Nigeria to move from the traditional procurement process to adopt international best practices in procurement.

Adedokun said the programme had already been provided for in the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

“ This gathering today marks the actual take-off of that consolidated approach to building capacity of public and private procurement officers who are doing business with the Federal Government.

“This new capacity building programme is aimed at building knowledge, mastery and skills of officers that will meet the expectations of all stakeholders.

“ We are already engaging professional bodies to assist us in building sector-based Procurement expertise that will match that of the private sector.

“This will ultimately reduce subjectivity, turn around time, wastage, reduce poverty, enhance job opportunities for our graduates and much more export to other developing countries. “

Adedokun said the programme, with the support of partners, was set to be adopted by other countries, which will serve as another form of foreign exchange.

He said the programme would be implemented in phases, starting with graduates from the six centres of excellence.

“ May I say today we have trained over 7,000 procurement officers nationwide. About 30 per cent represent the women, gender affirmative action that we have been promoting.”

He encouraged professional bodies to set up divisions that would focus on public procurement and create competition.

Taimur Samad, World Bank Acting Country Director for Nigeria, said the SPESSE, which was an 80 million dollar programme, would go a long way in the professionalization of the procurement practice in Nigeria.

Samad said Nigeria had become a reference point for other African countries who have shown interest in replicating the programme in their countries saying it was an honour for Nigeria.

He announced that the World Bank was increasing its financial commitment to the programme to deepen its impact across Nigeria.

Samad said the process would be completed by June to allow for further training, certification, and further impact at the federal and state levels of this critical initiative.

Sen. Ipinsagba Olajide, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement, said to achieve economic freedom, Nigeria needed to give free enterprise, adding that for free enterprise to be achieved, there must be transparency, fairplay and accountability.

Olajide assured that Nigeria would soon get to a point where bidding would be done in the comfort of people’s homes.

He said that there was no more room for compromise in the procurement process adding that the process must be straightforward and fair.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the SPESSE Project is a Federal Government of Nigeria project with assistance from the World Bank.

It is aimed at building capacity in managing procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards in the public sector. (NAN)(www.nananews.ng)

Edited by Vivian Ihechu