Author: Tolu Fadahunsi

Ahead of the 2021 budget preparation season, the Ondo State Bureau of Public Procurement began a series of training for Ondo State Government staff from various procuring entities in the State, with an end product that the participants will be able to design procurement plans for the procuring entities. The training programme was held at the Mydas Reosrt and Hotels, Owo on 2^nd – 3^rd September, 2020.

The Director-General of the Bureau, Mr Tolu Fadahunsi, welcomed the participants to the training and enjoined them to be focused and committed to every session as World Bank-trained resource persons were on ground to train the participants on public procurement.

The training programme was declared opened by the Hon. Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Akinteriwa, who was ably represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr Gbenga Adelayi. He commended the Bureau for initiating the training on public procurement in tandem with the provisions of the Ondo State Public Procurement Law, 2017 in order to sensitize, educate and enlighten the Public Service. He appreciated the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, for signing the legal framework for Audit, Fiscal Responsibility, Public Finance Management and Public Procurement Laws to signpost the commitment of his administration to good governance and value for public fund. He encouraged the participants to give the training the attention it deserved.

Training was attended by over 64 participants from various Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments, Parastatals, Agencies, Commission and Tertiary Institutions in Ondo State. Among the participants were Mr Sunday Adegoke, the Auditor-General of Ondo State, and Dr Gbenga Jinadu, the Head of Procurement, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo.

The lead resource person, Mr Akintunde Omomofe, gave a snappy background of procurement reforms in Nigeria based on the quest of President Olusegun Obasanjo to fight corruption and improve governance in the country on return to democracy in 1999, particularly in procurement processes. This eventually led to the drafting of the Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR) in year 2000. The CPAR recommended both legal and institutional framework for public procurement. The institutional framework led to the initial creation of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU), otherwise known as Due Process, which later metamorphosed to the Bureau of Public Procurement after the passage of and assenting to the Public Procurement Act in June 2007.

He further informed the gathering that Ondo State, in 2009, started the journey to institutional public procurement by engaging the World Bank for its own State Procurement Assessment Report (SPAR), which was delivered in 2011. This eventually led to the enactment of Ondo State Public Procurement Law in August, 2017 and the subsequent establishment of Ondo State Bureau of Public Procurement (ODBPP) in 2018.

Mr Omomofe also delivered a paper titled Introduction to Public Procurement, citing the distinctions between private procurement and public procurement while explaining various headings of procurement vis-à-vis civil works, goods and services. The positive effects of public procurement on the society such as economic development, improvement of quality of life of citizens etc were adequately addressed.

The speaker explained in details the basic principles of procurement, which include achieving economy and efficiency, encouraging wide participation, openness, competitiveness, fairness, equity, integrity, transparency and accountability.

Mr Akintunde Subair from the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency delivered a paper on the Procurement of Works Contracts. The speaker explained procurement and public procurement and their basic components after which essential steps in the procurement cycle from procurement plan to contract execution and management were discussed. The fundamentals and principles of public procurement was further expatiated by the speaker.

The lecture covered types of works contracts which include measured, lump sum, design and build, turnkey contracts amongst others. The various stages of procurement of works contracts starting from pre-procurement, tender process, contract award and contract management were explained and understood by the participants.

He progressed with the identification of different procurement methods and consideration for their applications. The paper presentations for the day was wrapped up by Mr Omomofe who gave details of the methods of procuring consulting services.

The Director General of the Bureau, Mr Fadahunsi, welcomed participants to the second day of the training session and appreciated the guest speakers for demystifying procurement process to the understanding of the participants.

As part of the programme lineup of Day 2, there was revision of Day 1 activities anchored by the DG via a written test. The participants performed well and the best 3 participants received cash prizes from the DG.

Mr Bunmi Akinsemola, the Focal Officer for Procurement Reforms in the ODBPP, anchored a paper on the Overview of the Ondo State Public Procurement Law 2017, running a brief on the background of what necessitated the Public Procurement Law. He highlighted major Sections of the Law such as the Functions of the Bureau, Composition of the Board, Organization of Procurements among others. He availed the participants with the soft copy of the Law and encouraged them to familiarize themselves generally with the provisions in the Law.