By Kehinde Ibrahim, Lagos
AS part of efforts to strengthen the nation’s procurement process, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has wrapped up its three-week its 2024 Mandatory Continuous Public Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme at the Festival Hotel, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
This five-week training, which included three weeks of residential training, equipped 400 public procurement officers with the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance transparency and efficiency in procurement processes.
Speaking at the event, the Director, Research, Training and Strategic Planning, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and Project Coordinator, Procurement Node, Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE), Federal Government- World Bank Financed Project, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, said, “We are building capacity, enhancing transparency, and promoting accountability in public procurement.”
“It is just like anybody who goes through primary school, or secondary school. The only way you will be able to know whether he or she has learned is to administer some exam’, he added.
Adedokun emphasised that the training is basic entry into procurement in Nigeria, providing participants with the basic tools to start functioning or renewing their knowledge.
“We train them for five weeks, though they are here physically for three weeks. Two weeks was the process we started. We gave those pre-training materials and assignments for them to read, understand and submit assignments before they came down for these three weeks of training.”
The training covered procurement principles, processes, and ethical behaviours, ensuring officers understand the consequences of misconduct.
“We also highlight ethical behaviour. We are saying to the 400 participants if you go wrong, this is the consequence that the law has provided for anybody who does the wrong thing”, Adedokun noted.
With over 7,000 officers trained across the country, Adedokun emphasised the impact on society.
“What that means is all these people are being trained. They are expected to go back to their areas of work and bring change, improve knowledge, and correct what is not properly done.”
He added that this will speed up processes, help the government deliver on promises faster, and enhance collaboration with anti-corruption agencies.
