Business
Institute Wants Council On Public Procurement
President, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSN), Alhaji Abduhamid Oyewo, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute the National Council on Public Procurement without further delay.
Oyewo made the call at the 7th Annual Conference and Award Night of the Institute on Thursday in Abuja with the theme, “Efficient Procurement Practice and Sustainability in an Economy under Recession’’.
He also urged the president to review the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007 in order to restore the dignity of professionalism in public procurement.
CIPSN President further advocated for an improved rewarding system for any procurement professional that uphold good ethical standards in practice as well as better conditions of service.
He added that the full recognition by government would stimulate optimum service delivery through enhanced performance by the procurement and supply chain management professionals.
“In the Public Procurement Act, there is the council; there is Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).
“The act says the council comes first as the father of BPP and the BPP has been in operation without a father, without a management but the act is so clear.
“The act says the BPP would be the secretariat for the council but since 2007 there has never been the council, it is always the BPP reporting to the presidency which is not the normal practice.
“We will continue as we have been doing before; we will continue to advise the government, let us do the right thing,’’ he said.
Oyewo advised procurement professionals to take into cognizance the rapidly changing face of supply chain management in other developing countries to understand the importance of sound procurement practice to national development.
He said that sound and proficient practice could be achieved through preparation of an efficient procurement plan based on needs establishment and ensure value for money.
According to him, it can also be achieved by ensuring the identification of goods, works and services required as well as appropriate procedure and method to ensure sound management of procurement decisions.
The Acting Registrar of the Institute, Alhaji Mohammed Aliyu, said the issue of procurement had been a serious problem in Nigeria, saying the institute was committed to ensuring standard procurement practice.