On behalf of the Board on Procurement and the Bureau of Public Procurement, I welcome the visiting parliamentarians from the Ondo State House of Assembly. I have been reliably informed that our august visitors are on familiarization visit to the Bureau as part of the oversight functions of the House on the Bureau of Public Procurement. To us this is a welcome development because it is the first of its kind since I assumed the mantle of leadership 18 months ago as the Director General of BPP.
It is ground breaking because this type of oversight function/visit will give the Bureau the first hand opportunity to transmit to the House through the House Committee on Tenders/Procurement various developments in the Bureau; its achievements and challenges with a view to enhancing better collaboration between the Bureau and the House Committee on Public Procurement and, by extension, the entire Ondo State House of Assembly.
Updates on the Bureau of Public Procurement
It is cheering to inform the visiting parliamentarians that after the initial inertia of 3 years since the passage of the Ondo State Bureau of Public Procurement Law (ODPPL) 2017, due to rudderless leadership the Bureau was not able to deliver on its statutory functions maximally due to the absence of a Board.
The Ondo State Board on Public Procurement was inaugurated by Arakunrin Odunayo Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on the 25th August, 2020. Consequently, in consonance with the Law, Ondo State now has in place a very robust and functional Board, peopled by 15 members representing both the executive arm of government and the various publics.
I am also to note that the Board has been up and doing in the discharge of its statutory functions. The inauguration of the Board on Public Procurement is a milestone achievement given that several State governments and even the Federal Government Nigeria are yet to inaugurate a Board on Procurement. We are proud to state that apart from Lagos State, Ondo State is a leading light in the institution of best practices in public procurement as most of the vital organs required have been emplaced.
As part of its efforts to build state-wide capacity in public procurement, the Bureau has in the past 12 months trained across board over 250 Public servants in public procurement, inclusive of all Accounting Officers; some members of the House of Assembly, and numerous public and civil servants. The impact assessment analysis of the training confirms that the institutionalisation of best practices in public procurement is gradually being imbibed by the procuring entities. We are sanguine that, in a matter of years, good public procurement tenets will become an instrument for reduction of cost of governance and a tool for effective resource allocation.
The state-wide capacity development in public procurement is ongoing and will continue until all public and civil servants in all the three arms of government have been duly capacitated.
Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Ondo State, based on the resolution of the Board on Procurement approved the establishment of a Procurement Cadre as one of the career paths in the civil service cadres. In addition, Mr Governor also approved the organogram for the Bureau of Public Procurement. To populate the organogram, a list of officers who had applied for conversion is pending with the Head of Service for necessary action. Our vision is to professionalize, capacitate and focus the Bureau of Public Procurement to become a leading light/pathfinder for other States.
We have succeeded in normalizing the hitherto estranged relationship that existed between the Bureau of Public Procurement and several multilateral institutions. We are pleased to report that the relationship has been rewarding.
We have successfully taken over the registration of all vendors, namely contractors, suppliers and service providers seamlessly from the Ministry of Works and Infrastructures. We have, at July 30, 2021; generated a sum of N11.566m from registration of contractors and service providers in Ondo State. This sum would go higher once the State’s funding capacity improves, as most vendors have shied away from registration due to the fear of failure to secure patronage. Secondly, our contract awarding model has also been an issue militating against registration of contractors.
The emplacement of procurement planning prior to budget preparation is a statutory requirement under the Ondo State Public Procurement Law 2017. BPP has started to enforce this statutory requirement by making the submission of procurement plan from the procuring entities as sine qua non to the obtention of benchmark price. To assist in eliminating pitfalls in procurement planning preparation, the Bureau has expedited general and specific training for public officers and civil servants. This is also an ongoing effort.
The Board, as part of its statutory functions, has examined the recommendations for upward review of monetary threshold for Accounting Officers and Mr. Governor. While the Board agreed that the upward review, as recommended by BPP is desirable, given the low purchasing power of the naira due to economic downturn, submitted that the multiplier effect of a general increase in the threshold has inherent and potential risk for a sub-national economy like Ondo State, which is expressing illiquidity.
We are contributing substantially towards reduction in the cost of governance through collaboration and the support of the Ministry of Finance, which as a matter of policy will not release funds except such requests are supported with BPP-issued benchmark price and No Objection certificate. This is a morale booster for BPP and as well a good strategy for prudent financial management. On this note, we will like to express our gratitude to the Honourable Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Akiterinwa, for his support and encouragement.
As part of one of the Bureau’s statutory functions, post-procurement audits have been institutionalized. We have emplaced a unit whose duty is dedicated to expediting post-procurement audits on all procurement entities. This is because procurement fraud is defined as any or a combination of the followings; (a) Diversion of funds (b) non-acquisition of assets for which fund was disbursed (c) not procuring according to approved specifications and brands, etc.
We are proud to inform Honourable Members of the ODHA that, by accomplishing the Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLIs) prescribed by the World Bank, we have been able to attract to the State in the past 15 months, the sum of $5.5m. In the year 2022, it is projected that based on DLIs, which are achievable, BPP would attract additional $4.5m to the State, God helping us.
For the first time in the history of the State we published the maiden edition of the official Ondo State Public Procurement Journal titled Ondo Procure. Efforts are ongoing to publish the 2nd edition during, for which we cordially invite Members of the House Committee on Tenders/Procurement to submit contents for publication. The Ondo Procure will be published bi-annually subject to funds availability.
Our Service Creed
- To create an open and level playing field for vendors and service providers.
- To make our response time for benchmark prices for goods and services not more than 7 days and, for works, not beyond 14 days; but these timelines will be abridged in cases of emergencies.
- To institutionalize global best practices in public procurement and become a leading light and pathfinders in this area of specialty.
- To professionalize the procurement officer cadre in order to become a reference point in public procurement and attendant global best practices.
- To instill ethics in public procurement and obliterate compromise of procurement staff through gratification, inducement and influence.
- To contribute maximally to substantial reduction in the cost of governance through value addition and value for money.
Vision
To emplace a virile, focused, professionalized Bureau of Public Procurement; which will be a reference point in global procurement’s best practices, propelled by the state-of-the-art technology; capacitated to deliver value to various stakeholders in tandem with the extant provisions of the Law.
Thanks for your visit!
Tolu Fadahunsi
DG, Ondo State Bureau of Public Procurement
