BPP Eyes Tech, Best Practices To Drive Public Procurement

BY COBHAM NSA, ABUJA – The Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mamman Ahmadu says modern technology, efficiency and transparency will strengthen the nation’s procurement process for effective service delivery.

He also confirmed the Bureau’s resolve to digitalize all processes towards making the current public procurement reforms a huge success and fully compliant with international best practices.

Consequently, the BPP boss said all Federal Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (CCSP) will be classified and categorized to enhance specilalisation and better performance in public sector procurement.

Addressing participants at the zonal stakeholders’ workshop on Development of Category Matrix for the National Database of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (CCSP) in Abuja, the BPP boss said Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind with the world going digital in the public procurement processes.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary and Head Media & Public Relations, BPP, Mr Segun Imohiosen, the Director General assured that the Bureau would not compromise global best practices but ensure its full compliance in every public procurement process.

He said the development was meant to encourage wider participation and eliminate hurtful administrative bottlenecks that hitherto allowed abuses within the system.  

Mr Ahmadu said BPP would always ensure strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act (PPA, 2007) as contained in Sections 5j; 5q; and 6j that prescribe the need for Classification, Categorisation of Federal Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers (CCSP) in order to enhance specilalisation and high performance in public procurement as well as reduction in the cost of tendering.

According to him, it is also important for all relevant professional bodies and stakeholders to be actively involved in driving ongoing reform process for the ultimate good of the country.

Also speaking at the event, Minister of State for Works, Suleiman Hassan Zarma, who underscored the importance of the Categorisation Matrix, said the template would not only promote healthy stakeholders’ participation, but also enhance specialisation in their different fields of expertise.

Zarma further stressed the need for local contractors to be positively considered in the categorisation matrix given their fundamental role in the country’s infrastructural development process.

Dignitaries that graced the workshop included former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo (rtd), and Head of defunct Budget Monitoring And Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) that became BPP, Professor Kunle Ade Wahab and former Director General of BPP, Engineer Emeka Ezeh

Others were former Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Transport and State House, Abuja, Engineer Nebolisa Emordi; former Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Engr. Johnny Chukwu (both Perm Secretaries were former staff of BMPIU and the BPP), BPP’s Directors and many key players in the different sectors of the Nigerian economy.