The Association of Public Procurement Practitioners of Nigeria has called for promotion of ethical values and best practices in public procurement.

The association’s National President, Emem Kanico, made the call in Lagos on Wednesday during the maiden edition of APPON Lagos capacity building workshop.

The theme of the workshop was “Practicality of the public procurement process.”

It also reports that two sessions were delivered by experts on the topic “Practicality in procurement process and the role/importance of ethics and integrity in public procurement process.’’

The national president said that capacity building was at the core of the association’s mandate to keep its members with speed on global happenings and to make sure that assignments were carried out in tandem with best practices.

The national president said that the importance of procurement officers to the public was to ensure value for money and fitness for purposes.

Speaking, the Director-General of Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Idowu Onafowote, called on the Federal Government to support procurement officials to ensure that government services were delivered faster.

According to Mr Onafowote, there is so much that procurement professionals can do to economic development, noting that they are risk identifiers.

He said that procurement officers could identify risks and that every risk begins even from planning and the various stages in the procurement cycle has its own risk.

“We are trained to identify those risks and mitigate them; there are risks associated with our procurement plan, seeking and securing documents from other officers, and evaluation that we carry out. Every stage along the process has its risks and we are trained to identify those risks and mitigate them” he stated.

In her welcome address, APPON chairman, Lagos State chapter, Morenike Olawole, said that public procurement played a vital role in delivering essential services and infrastructure that align with the overall objectives of organisations.

Mrs Olawole said the process could be complex, cumbersome, and often mired in bureaucracy.

She said that the workshop aimed to explore the practical aspects of public procurement, share best practices, and innovative solutions to overcome the challenges procurement professionals faced.

Earlier, the keynote speaker and Managing Director, Crown Legacy Resources Ltd., Olusegun Solade, said that every kobo that the government spent had to be matched with the result.

According to him, the association wants to look into how the money is spent and if it is well spent.

He, however, advised them to improve in their knowledge and acquire the right skills and integrity.

The highlight of the event included presentation of awards to professionals and Local Community Development Areas chairmen across Lagos State.

(NAN)