October 21, (THEWILL) – The Acting-Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Barrister Olusegun Omotola, Monday said the ongoing reforms being implemented in the agency facilitated the decline of 60% requests for restricted tendering in favour of open competitive bidding, promising to even do more.
The reforms notably the review of the current Public Procurement Act 2007, to simplify and streamline the procurement processes to meet the evolving economic demands in the country when completed will make the “BPP a more proactive and effective regulator and anti-corruption agency.”
Omotola, who spoke on Monday, in Lagos at the 2024 Training For Conversion/Induction into the Procurement Cadre in Parastatals, Institutions, Commissions and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, said the Procurement Reform involves four pillars, including “Modernisation of legislative and regulatory framework; Strengthening of institutional framework and management capacity; Improvement of procurement operations and market practices; and Strengthening integrity of public procurement system.”
According to the Ag. DG, who was appointed on June 21, 2024, the reforms, which is part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, aims to “modernise the Public Procurement Regulatory Frameworks to meet the evolving economic demands in Nigeria, offer greater flexibility in procurement procedures and embrace modern public procurement practices” amongst others.
He said work is ongoing on the review of the current Public Procurement Act 2007 while “the review and modernisation of our Standard Bidding Documents and Public Procurement Regulations and Manual is also at an advanced stage.”
The reforms, which he said are already in the works, will “Reduce the delivery timelines of Bureau of Public Procurement’s (BPP) operations through the deployment of a transparent and AI driven Procurement Review Management System to manage its workflow and prevent corrupt practices…”
Other targets include: “Implement Organisational Re-engineering, ensure Organisational Culture Change, and Transform and Re-brand the BPP as a proactive and effective regulator and anti-corruption agency.
“Provide opportunities for new entrants, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Women-Owned Enterprises in line with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda on ensuring sustained inclusive economic growth;
“Contribute and support the drive for the delivery of innovation in public service delivery in collaboration with other innovation-focused Government Agencies;
“Embedding transparency throughout the procurement lifecycle, with greater emphasis on the adoption of Open Competitive Bidding through Advertisements (since I assumed office in June ending, we have declined 60% of requests for Restricted Tendering in favour of Open Competitive Bidding, and we shall do more. This change has met with a lot of resistance and blackmail from those benefiting from the status quo, but we are resolved to entrenching the good principles contained in the Public Procurement Act 2007).
“Ensure effective public procurement oversight, extensive Procurement Audit exercise shall commence in few weeks’ time;
“Deliver Value-for-Money (VfM) and Social Value through public procurement.
“Enhance the capability of procurement actors – that’s where you come in [We are currently training some procurement officers on sustainable procurement in our Public Procurement Centres of Excellence in the six geopolitical zones (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, (ATBU), Bauchi; Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM); Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO); University of Benin (UNIBEN) and University of Lagos (UNILAG)). Also, we are about to roll-out extensive training for professionalisation of public procurement in this last quarter of 2024, through the World Bank supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Project).”
Omotola urged the new procurement officers to deploy their expertise and specialised knowledge in implementing the reforms.
“You will be at the forefront of establishing and maintaining professional standards and elevating the strategic importance of procurement within your organisations.
“Secondly, you will play a vital role in change management. Reform often involves significant changes to established processes, and you will be responsible for communicating these changes effectively to stakeholders across your organisations. You will provide guidance on the standard procurement procedures, manage resistance to change, and ensure smooth transitions”, he charged.
