The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the public procurement and supply chain management sector.

According to the institute’s President, Sikiru Balogun, the sector is in dire need of rescue from unqualified practitioners, who are causing more harm to the country’s investment drive and good governance.

Balogun expressed concerns over the alleged usurpation of its functions concerning the training and certification of procurement professionals in the country.

Addressing reporters on the challenges confronting the institute, Balogun lamented the decline of professionalism in the sector, which he attributed to the lack of qualified professionals handling public procurement and supply chain management. He emphasised that the sector is crucial to the nation’s economic development as it involves the use of public funds to acquire goods, supplies, works and services.

Balogun stressed that public procurement and supply chain management are complex processes that require professional expertise to execute transparently and effectively. He noted that efficient procurement management could help cut costs, boost productivity and access crucial vendor and product information, ensuring transparency from purchase to payment.

The CIPSMN chief argued that, like law, medicine or accountancy, the procurement and supply chain sector should be reserved for qualified professionals. He pointed out that the institute was established through the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria Act, 2007 and is empowered to determine academic standards, regulate the conduct of practitioners and provide training, education and examinations for those seeking to qualify as professionals.

Balogun expressed concern that the current state of procurement practice in Nigeria is sabotaging the president’s efforts to drive economic development.

He emphasised that sound procurement practices are powerful drivers of economic development, delivering value for money in government spending.

To address the challenges facing the sector, Balogun urged President Tinubu to rescue public procurement and supply chain management from unqualified hands.

He called for the continual monitoring of the performance of the Nigerian public procurement and supply chain system, which would provide the hard data needed for research, planning, policymaking, and the enforcement of ethical and professional standards in the sector.