BPP Boss, Adedokun, Applauds Tinubu’s Commitment To Institutional Reforms 

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt 

The Director-General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr Adebowale Adedokun, has applauded President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to institutional reform, procurement integrity and public sector transparency.

Dr Adedokun said under the President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Bureau has been entrusted with a clear mandate to enforce standards, elevate professionalism, and reposition public procurement as a strategic instrument of national development. 

The BPP boss made the commendation in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Mandatory Continuous Public Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme (MCPCDTP), Batch B, held at the PTDF Centre for Skills Development and Training, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Adedokun explained that the programme is in line with the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2007, which aimed at ensuring transparency, efficiency and value for money in government procurement of goods, works and services. 

He said that the capacity-building programme demonstrated the Bureau’s sustained commitment to institutionalise trained, certified and accountable procurement professionals; a programme designed to strengthen competence, ethical standards and professionalism within the Nigerian Procurement System.

Adedokun explained further that as a regulator “it is to harmonize existing government policies and practices on public procurement in Nigeria with the key functions of publicising/explaining the provisions of the PPA, 2007, organising training and development programme for procurement professionals and coordinating relevant training programmes to build institutional capacity”.

He urged all participants to engage fully in the programme to sharpen their expertise and reaffirm ethical resolves as Nigeria needs competent and courageous procurement officers to uphold due process at all times, and wished all participants a productive and transformative training programme.

Speaking on key reforms and institutional achievements, the BPP boss said: “Under the present administration, procurement reform has proceeded with purpose and direction. We have reviewed and updated procurement thresholds to reflect present economic realities. 

“We have introduced revised Standard Bidding Documents and an upgraded Procurement Manual to eliminate ambiguities, close loopholes and promote consistency across MDAs. 

“Our procurement audit framework has been strengthened, market intelligence expanded, and collaboration deepened with anti-corruption and accountability institutions, including the Code of Conduct Bureau, represented here today.”

Adedokun, who said the Bureau is serious about sanctioning defaulting staff and contractors, added: “There will be zero tolerance for misbehaviour and lack of due diligence to procurement activities.”

He also warned that: “Any procurement officer that does not build himself, self development, also attend the various programmes will not be allowed to move to the next grade level. Every year, you must be able to show that you understand what is being done and you are committed to ethical practices. 

“Based on the foundation laid for us, we are not only building, we are not reinventing, we are only strengthening the system and addressing the loopholes, the risk and closing the gap for corrupt tendencies. 

“More importantly, that Mr President clearly stated, even which what he has done in the last couple of days by saying ‘any contractor that does bad job, who have not done project, collected money must be sanctioned, barred them in Nigeria and make sure they are barred anywhere in the world.

“And for staff, we are already taking a litigating sanction. Any staff that we found will be recommended to our sister organisations ICPC, EFCC, etc for proper litigations.”

He disclosed that: “From Engr Emeka Ezeh’s time till date, we have recorded not less than 8,000 procurement officers who have been reoriented in the way procurement should be done and we continue to maintain the momentum. We are going to tap from the experiences of the retiring ones like him and others.”

In his remarks at the event, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said that the commission’s processes will be fully automated by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Ogbuku stated: “We will soon automate our procurement processes to ensure compliance, transparency, and better service delivery. We have recently reformed our corporate governance structure and internal processes.”

According to the MD, the NDDC had commenced implementation of a new Governance Advisory Service to ensure accountability and transparency in service delivery.

He observed: “Holding this training in the Niger Delta demonstrates that there is peace in the region, which translates to peace in Nigeria. We have transitioned from transaction to transformation, and this is evident in our public procurement processes.

“In NDDC, we take public procurement very seriously.  Last year, we collaborated with BPP in training some of our staff. Training and retraining are essential in every organisation. We are also training our staff in ICT to enhance their digital knowledge.”

In his keynote address entitled: ‘The role of Procurement Officers in the Delivery of the Renewed Hope Agenda,’ the Chairman of FCT Civil Service Commission, Mr Emeka Ezeh, noted that procurement was a tool for good governance, as well as a mechanism to fight corruption.

He emphasised: “You must internalise the eight priority areas of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu’s administration.”

It was observed that 300 persons participated at the training selected from 150 LGAs and 170 Agencies.