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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has warned that defaulters of the procurement code of conduct will be dealt with decisively.
BPP Director-General Dr Adebowale Adedokun handed down the warning at the Procurement Evolution Day event in Abuja.
He declared that the government would not hesitate to blacklist erring contractors, particularly given the non-interference stance of President Bola Tinubu.
Dr Adedokun disclosed that the government has significantly reduced unnecessary bottlenecks while preserving transparency and accountability.
According to him, the administration has equally strengthened compliance enforcement, pointing out that reform without accountability cannot succeed.
He explained that the overarching aim is to ensure that procurement processes remain compliant, responsive, efficient, and capable of supporting timely project delivery.
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He said: “Public procurement must be governed not only by rules but also by consequences for violations. We have, therefore, reinforced monitoring mechanisms and compliance reviews across procuring entities.
“The government has significantly reduced unnecessary bottlenecks while preserving transparency and accountability. The objective is simple: procurement processes must remain compliant, but they must also be responsive, efficient, and capable of supporting timely project delivery.”
He reminded participants that “procurement reform is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end—a Nigeria where public resources are used judiciously, where citizens trust their government, where development accelerates, and where corruption is curtailed.”
The guest speaker, Emeka Ezeh, suggested that the government should embark on massive sensitisation programmes across all geopolitical zones to address existing structural pitfalls.
Ezeh, who spoke on “From Policy to Law: Institutionalising the Bureau of Public Procurement under the PPA 2007,” also suggested implementing comprehensive training and conversion programmes across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
He reiterated the critical importance of deep engagement with civil society organisations, organised retreats for permanent secretaries, CEOs of federal institutions, and accounting officers, as well as closer collaboration with anti-graft agencies.
Going forward, he called for an amendment of the law to bring back the President as the Chair of the Council. He further recommended incorporating all fiscal amendments made to the Act via various Finance Acts into the Principal Act, creating zonal offices for the BPP to track and monitor both procedural compliance and project implementation, and ensuring that staff deployed to these zones possess the capacity to execute their duties effectively.
