The federal government has begun a three-week training in procurement across its agencies to check funds waste and corruption and improve procurement culture.

The training began on Tuesday in Lagos and was organised by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). It was tagged 2024 Training for Conversation/Induction into the Procurement Cadre of Agencies.

The acting director-general of BPP, Olusegun Omotola, described the training as transformational.

Mr Omotola said the participants needed to be educated on their role as procurement officers at a time of significant public procurement reform.

He said it was essential to understand the landscape of public procurement reform.

“Examining the context in which we find ourselves. public procurement
reform is not just a buzzword; it is a necessary evolution of our practice to meet the changing demands of the public sector and society at large,” he said.

He said the public procurement reform would be driven by the modernisation of legislative and regulatory frameworks and the strengthening of institutional framework and management capacity.

Mr Omotola added that the reform would be driven by the improvement of procurement operations and market practices and the strengthening of the integrity of the public procurement system.

“We aim to modernise the public procurement regulatory frameworks to meet the evolving economic demands in Nigeria, offer greater flexibility in procurement procedures, and embrace modern practices for sustainability.

” Work is ongoing on the review of the Public Procurement Act 2007 in
this regard and we seek the support of our stakeholders when it gets to the floor of the National Assembly.

” We aim to simplify and streamline procurement processes with the deployment of e-Government Procurement (e-GP),” he said.

Mr Omotola said BPP was determined to reduce its operations’ delivery timelines by deploying a transparent and artificial intelligence-driven process.

“This will enable easy workflow and prevent corrupt practices,” he said, adding, “We are determined to implement a re-engineering, ensure culture change and transformation in the BPP.”

He gave the assurance that the agency was committed to providing opportunities for new entrants, especially micro, small
and medium enterprises and women-owned enterprises, in line with
President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on ensuring sustained, inclusive economic growth.

(NAN)