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The vice-chancellor of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State, Prof. Sunday Oge Elom, has said that public accountability and transparency in the procurement process are key to the sustainable economic growth and development of Nigeria.
The VC stated this during the opening ceremony of a two-day procurement training programme themed “Achieving Sustainable Development Through Effective Public Procurement,” organized in the university for principal officers, procurement officers and other stakeholders in the procurement process of the institution.
“We shall continue to abide by the established rules and regulations and policies guiding public procurement in Nigeria.
“It is our sincere belief that public accountability and transparency in the procurement process are key to the sustainable economic growth and development of our nation.”
Prof. Elom stressed that the training programme was meant to build the capacity of participants in the procurement process, to ensure that the institution continues to work in tandem with the Public Procurement Act, 2007, in all the university’s procurement activities.
He further noted that, as a university, and under his administration as the VC, they have always insisted that, to ensure that the university remains aboveboard, the Public Procurement Act should guide all of the institution’s procurement activities.
While giving an overview of public procurement in Nigeria, a staff of the Bureau of Public Procurement, one of the resource persons for the programme, Godwin Okereke, said it involves a sequence of activities by a government ministry, department or agency that starts with the initial assessment of needs to the selection and award of contracts to the payment and completion of project.
Adding that the essence is to promote public accountability and transparency in public expenditure.
He noted that public procurement is usually categorized into goods, works and services, stressing that through effective public procurement, government organizations meet their needs for goods, works, services and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organizations,but also to the society and the economy.
While also speaking at the programme, QS Mike Dumadi, explained that an accounting officer of a procuring public entity should be the person charged with the supervision of the conduct of all procurement processes, stating that in the case of a ministry, the Permanent Secretary and in department or agency, the Director-General, is the accounting officer.
He added that the accounting officer of every public procuring entity has the overall responsibility for the planning and organization of tenders and execution of procurements to ensure that adequate procurement is provided and integrated into the yearly budgets, ensuring that no reduction of values or splitting of procurements is carried out such as to evade the use of the appropriate procurement method.
