BPP Director-General calls on States to adopt public procurement system.

[FMINigeria]

                         The Director-General of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), Engr. Emeka Ezeh has renewed appeal to States government to set up a public procurement system as a way of ensuring further transparency and accountability in government.

Engr. Emeka Ezeh who spoke at a high level interactive session with a delegation of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency at Abuja praised Lagos State for its procurement reform initiative, adding however that the nation will benefit as a whole if more States join Lagos and a few other States that have introduced the reform.

He emphasised the fact that there is no alternative to ensuring accountability, transparency and Value for money in the public expenditure and contractive process if national development is to be guaranteed.

According to the DG, due process is the cardinal focus in the implementation of President Goodluck Jonathan's Transformation Agenda and it is also a common mantra in the international economics system and development that we cannot afford to be left behind.

Engr. Akin Onimole, the General Manager and CEO of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency who led the delegation on the familiarisation visit to the Bureau emphasised the fact that the Bureau of Public Procurement has set a standard through its public procurement reform that should be emulated by all the States.  He stated that the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency has in the last few years watched with keen interest the giant strides of the Bureau and as such is most willing to follow in the same path.

He also said that the inception of the BPP reform has opened up to the public how much money the government has been losing over the years to sharp practices in public procurement.  He also harped on the fact that it is heart warming to see that in spite of the untoward practices in the past, BPP has saved government a colossal sum of money, that which could have ended up in the pockets of some miscreants.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria