Rivers BoPP Saves N12.79bn In 2011

The Rivers State Bureau of Public Procurement (RSBoPP), says it saved the sum of N12.79 billion for the state in 2011.

The chairman of the bureau’s board of directors, Rev. Precious Omuku stated this yesterday at the forum on, “Public Procurement in Nigeria, Strengthening Public Procurement at the Sub-National Level in Nigeria,”, held at the Rivers State House of Assembly Auditorium, Port Harcourt.

According to the chairman, the bureau’s success was measured from the figures it was able to save for government, which should be decreasing with time. He noted that in 2009 about N19.30 billion was saved, N13.50 billion was saved in 2010, while in 2011, upto October, a total of N12.79 billion had been saved. This, he said, includes N11.02 billion in one transaction.

He said that the aim of establishing RSBoPP in 2008 by Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was to ensure that money belonging to the state was spent in a fair and responsibly manner to ensure the maximum benefit of the state-capturing the concept of Value For Money (VFM).

Rev Omuku said the importance of the bureau was underscored by the fact that all procurements were made according to a stipulated pattern, starting with an advertisement to ensure that no insider cornered government’s business.

The procedure, he explained, was aimed at entrenching transparency, accountability, and eliminating corruption in the public procurement process. Rev. Omuku noted that RSBoPP would henceforth invoke and apply sanctions prescribed by the law on any erring procuring entities.

In a keynote address on the theme of the forum, “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Government: The Role of Public Procurement Reforms,” the Vice President for Africa Region, World Bank, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, said that the nature of public procurement in modern government was being driven by the desire of governments to make better use of public resources.

She explained that in a fiscally constrained environments, high performing and transparent procurement systems had become fundamental to guaranteeing cost-effective delivery of goods and services for societies at large and particularly for the poor, noting that procurement accounted for a substantial share of the national economy.

The World Bank Executive, said World Bank and other donors have assisted developing countries reform their procurement regimes through technical knowledge and financial assistance and that the key aspect of the reform include the enactment of new public procurement legislation and setting up of new institutional arrangements for management of procurement.