Benue to partner NIQS, plans procurement unit

Focused on curtailing waste in spending on projects’ cost, Benue authorities have concluded plans to establish a procurement unit.

The state government will be sending the bill on procurement unit to the House of Assembly and when established, would be manned by quantity surveyor.

Governor Samuel Ortom made the pledge while declaring open a two-day workshop organised by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) at the Previous Event Centre, Makurdi, Benue State capital.

Represented by his Deputy, Benson Abounu, an engineer, he maintained that there is always a lot of waste in the nation’s efforts towards infrastructural development as budgets for projects are mostly exceeded or projects abandoned.

According to him, that his administration will soon key into the services provided by the Institute of Quantity Surveyors for the infrastructural development of the state to avoid unnecessary waste of resources.

Ortom who made the indication last Wednesday described the topic for the workshop: Budgeting and Capital Project Monitoring and Evaluation in an Era of Change as rife and timely, and expressed gratitude to the institute for choosing Benue for their first outing workshop.

According to the Governor, Quantity Survey is the nucleus of any major capital project; it gives accurate bill of quantity and eliminates waste; it is the bedrock of infrastructural development of any nation; it can build and marred.