The Bureau of Public Procurement has called for stronger participation of civil society organisations in monitoring Nigeria’s public procurement system to ensure value for public expenditure.

The director-general of the BPP, Adebowale Adedokun, made the call in a statement issued by Ngozi Anyaelezu, assistant chief information officer, in Abuja on Friday.

According to the statement, Mr Adedokun made the call at the inaugural forum of the Advocate for the Promotion of Transparent Procurement Initiative in Abuja.

He urged CSOs to serve as independent observers by monitoring procurement processes, documenting their findings and submitting credible observations to appropriate authorities.

According to him, procurement should not be treated merely as an administrative procedure but as a tool for delivering Nigeria’s broader economic and social development objectives.

“An effective procurement system promotes value for money, competition and sustainable development. Stronger procurement outcomes will also improve citizens’ confidence in government,” he said.

The BPP boss identified effective procurement planning as critical to reducing waste and improving public expenditure outcomes.

He highlighted proper record-keeping, market surveys, cost benchmarking and contract monitoring as key components of effective procurement planning, stressing that planning must precede procurement activities.

Mr Adedokun said government institutions would increasingly be required to demonstrate the effectiveness of previous budget implementation before new projects entered the budget process.

He said the approach would strengthen the link between budget allocation, procurement decisions and the actual results delivered to citizens.

The director-general also said the bureau’s price intelligence mechanisms remained important tools for controlling procurement costs.

He said that procurement reforms had generated substantial savings, with about N1.1 trillion saved in the first 11 months of 2025 through improved processes, benchmarking and stronger controls.

Mr Adedokun listed reforms such as the digitalisation of procurement processes, wider publication of procurement opportunities and contract awards, professionalisation of procurement personnel, and the development of standard bidding documents.

He said that Nigeria’s procurement system must move towards greater openness and competition, stressing that selective tendering should no longer be treated as the norm. He also said that strengthening procurement integrity was a collective responsibility involving procuring entities, contractors, consultants and procurement professionals.

The secretary of the APTPI board, Ayorinde Dola-Johnson, said the organisation would focus on evidence-driven monitoring, access to procurement information and constructive engagement with public institutions.

Mr Dola-Johnson said APTPI’s approach would remain non-partisan and professionally independent. He said its success would be measured by the procurement challenges it helped prevent, the reforms it advanced and the improvements it contributed to in the value Nigerians derived from public spending.

(NAN)