1 month ago
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The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr Adebowale Adedokun, has vowed to exposure and punish contractors and nationalist officials who interruption procurement laws, informing that the lipid and state manufacture volition soon travel nether strict scrutiny.
Speaking connected Arise News connected Wednesday morning, Adedokun said his medication was determined to extremity impunity successful the procurement process by publishing details of infractions, ordering refunds of stolen funds, and collaborating with anti-graft agencies for prosecution.
“You would person seen immoderate large transformations happening successful the country. If you notation procurement anyplace successful the country, they volition archer you it’s not concern arsenic usual,” Adedokun said.
“In caller memories, I person had to authorisation immoderate agencies of authorities to refund wealth backmost to the coffers of authorities and they are doing it. Some of my colleagues astatine EFCC and ICPC are regular receiving directives from maine to prosecute erring nationalist servants and contractors. What we person to bash much of is to people each these details, which we are doing.”
The DG revealed that President Bola Tinubu had personally urged him to marque the procurement process much transparent by naming and shaming offenders.
“I spoke with the President, helium said: ‘Please bash it. I person thing with anybody who violates the law. Go up and publish, fto them look prosecution.’”
Adedokun explained that the BPP’s website has been rebranded to springiness Nigerians real-time accusation connected procurement violations. He assured that citizens would statesman to spot details of infractions made nationalist successful the coming weeks and months.
The DG stressed that the lipid and state industry, antecedently exempted from strict scrutiny due to the fact that of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), would soon beryllium brought into the fold of procurement oversight.
“We were capable to o.k. contracts successful the assemblage galore years ago, but due to the fact that of the PIA, we held on. We are coming backmost to that. Procurement covers each sectors including lipid and gas, and I tin archer you that we are having behind-the-scenes discussions and precise soon, we volition radiance our searchlight successful that area. My colleagues astatine the ICPC are carrying retired superior investigations, it’s conscionable a substance of time, you volition spot the results.”
Adedokun admitted that enforcing procurement rules has not been difficult, pointing to mediocre compliance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), anemic national engagement, and debased consciousness of procurement regulations arsenic large hurdles.
“The deficiency of compliance by MDAs to travel instructions is 1 of the challenges we person faced. Also feasibility successful presumption of citizens’ engagement is poor. We are perpetually engaging stakeholders to springiness them understanding. There is mediocre penetration of rules and regulations,” helium said.
The DG besides recalled that during the COVID-19 pandemic, rules were deliberately relaxed to let speedy interventions, but immoderate radical exploited the system.
“In COVID-19 we relaxed the rules and radical took vantage of it, truthful we are uncovering it challenging to instrumentality radical to what it utilized to be,” helium noted.
Adedokun further identified deficiency of method capableness among immoderate procurement officers who misunderstand the quality of their occupation arsenic different challenge.
“Some of them deliberation procurement is conscionable awarding of contracts,” helium lamented.
Despite these issues, the DG insisted that reforms were underway to marque Nigeria’s procurement much transparent and accountable.
He added that by combining sanctions, prosecutions, and unfastened work of violations, the BPP volition reconstruct nationalist spot successful however authorities funds are spent.
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