By Godfrey AKON
The Federal Government has initiated efforts to develop human capacity on procurement management in public and private sectors, under its Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement Project, SPESSE.
The initiative, which is also aimed at producing competent and intellectually sound procurement professionals, was launched in Abuja on Thursday by Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
Speaking at the event, Osinbajo said the project was domiciled in six universities across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, adding that the initiative is key to achieving and maintaining sustainable physical infrastructure.
Universities selected for the project include: University of Lagos, Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the University of Benin.
According to Osinbajo, if Nigeria must achieve the objectives of the Economic Recovery Growth Plan ERGP, and the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs, the country must get it right in procurement, environmental and social safeguards.
“Nigeria must make progress in reducing the high cost of governance in the public sector as well as be strengthened by entrenching transparency and accountability at all levels of government, while issues relating to construction, rehabilitation and extension of existing buildings, acquisition of lands, purchase of laboratory equipment, disposal of reagents and samples amongst others must conform with world standards,” he said.
Represented by the Minister of State for Education, Chuwkuemeka Nwajiuba, the vice President said government was satisfied with the existing procurement laws and that if the need for amendment arises, proposal would be made to the National Assembly on it.
“We are satisfied with how the procurement cat of 2017 is being implemented at the moment ,but administrative powers to deal with legal issues will be subject to when the National Assembly will have to debate and agree on revolving such powers,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, represented by the Perm.Sec Federal Ministry of Education, Arc Sonny Echono, said it is time to grow home-grown experts in procurement to address issues in capital projects. He called for accelerated implementation of the projects.
Adamu said this will address issues of inefficiencies in procurement &lack of compliance in social standards.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof Adamu Rasheed, said Nigeria is finally on the path to developing the much-needed critical mass of professionals in the fields of Procurement, Environmental Standards and Social Standards.
“The SPESSE Project is Nigeria’s first attempt at institutionalising sustainable capacity building in the fields of Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards, by offering professionalisation and academic programmes in a custom-made, fit-for-purpose and sustainable manner, through the Centres of Excellence. This project is a capacity building one that assures results across the entire Nigerian economy”
Responding on behalf of the SPESSE host centres, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, expressed readiness of the universities to host the centres, saying University of Lagos already has over 12 functional centres.
