By Funmi Ogundare
A total of 294 members from across the country were recently inducted by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) and advised to abide by its ethics.
Speaking at the 2021 group A induction ceremony held in Lagos, the Registrar, Alhaji Mohammed Jimoh Aliu reteirated the need for government to professionalise procurement as enshrined in the Public Procurement Act of 2007 so that there can be value for tax payers’ money.
He noted that every public official saddled with the responsibility of procurement must be duly trained, certified by the institute and be guided by the ethics of the profession.
Aliu listed some of the challenges confronting the institute to include lack of procurement policy and procedures; lack of inauguration of Public Procurement Council and proper domestication of its certificate in the scheme of service of the federation.
“Acquisition of the necessary knowledge and professionalism are worldwide hallmark for entry, career progression and advancement as far as every human being desired in his endeavour. However for many years now, the institute has made concerted effort towards the proper placement of our certificate in the public service scheme of Nigeria within the Head of Service of Federation and this has been a herculean task to achieve despite the World Bank recommendations, Federal Ministry of Education clean reports of findings, presidential order number five, the institute’s Act of Parliament 21 of 2007, among others.”
The registrar described procurement as a critical aspect of any organisation as they cannot function efficiently without continuous flow of right quantity and quality materials to support operations.
He expressed concern that this field of endeavour is constantly being abused on a daily basis in Nigeria, saying that is why it is not evidenced in the tax payers money and the delivery of quality service and security.
The registrar regretted that those at the helm of goverment affairs have been fustrating the domestication of its certificate leading to corrupt practices in the system. “We all know what is happening in Nigeria regarding security issues, procurement system is faulty compared to what is happening in developed world. All the heads of service in Nigeria do not want procurement to function the way it should. That is why the domestication of the certificate is another problem. It is very clear. For instance, see our roads, within the next few years, it will start going bad as a result of inferior materials.
“Are the materials purchased according to specifications? Were they purchased by the right personnel? There is tendency that you compromised to what it entails to purchase. See what happened at NDDC where they were just washing their dirty linen in public. Procurement is meant for those who have the knowledge and certified by the necessary body,” Aliu stressed
The President of the institute, Alhaji Jubrin advised the professionals to abide by its rules and regulations and be hard working, adding that failure to adhere to these will attract sanctions from the body.
