CIPSMN decries weak public procurement practices

Sees due diligence in appointment of professionals
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) has expressed worries over weak public procurement practices especially in federal ministries, noting that the sector is still plagued with lack of professional inputs to achieve its full potential of transforming the economy.

‎According to the institute, many developed economies of the world have been able to spur economic growth and development, saying that the present administration must as a matter of urgency, give professionals in the industry opportunity to drive procurement services in the country.

The president of the institute, Diekola Oyewo, in a press conference to announce its ‎yearly conference scheduled to hold on the 24th of November, 2016, tagged: “Efficient procurement practice and sustainability in an economy under recession: The CIPSMN perspective”, however advised the managers of the economy to ensure due diligence is followed when making professional appointments, maintaining that this is the reason why procurement services is in its current deplorable state.

“Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) is weak and we are ready to train people to become professionals in procurement services. Procurement professionals prevent corruption at no cost and it is better not to fight corruption because it is very expensive to combat. We believe the present administration has the political will to change the weak nature of the industry,” he added.

He called on the Buhari-led administration to urgently establish a national council of public procurement to get the right personnel to achieve the right result going forward, pointing out that procurement practices have been corrupt due to absence of professionals.

Also speaking at the event, the North Central Coordinator, CIPSMN, Abdul Mamman, ‎said one of the ways to get out the economic recession, is identifying where the country has competitive and comparative advantage as a country, saying that the private sector being the driver of the economy, must be made to key into the procurement process.

He advised that regulatory bodies such as SON must come out to support local production by ensuring that goods and services meet international best practices, saying that whatever efforts being carried out by the federal government to boost local production should up scaled.

“The only way we can get out of recession is to believe in ourselves and scale our capacity to produce, identify our priorities and let professionals in various fields carry out their mandates. People who are trained in complexities and intricacies of a particular area should be given the opportunities to do their jobs the way it should be done,” he said.

In his words, “If we are to get out of recession, we need to support the government. It is our attitude and commitment towards what we feel to our next neighbour. We need to see ourselves as one, so that government policies will be implemented and successful.”