Stakeholders urge government to sanitise projects’ procurement process

Stakeholders have called for holistic adherence to the public procurement Act to mitigate existence of quacks, use of substandard materials and the prolonged delays in project completion.

The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye who set the tone at the 28th Lagos builder’s conference, explained that appropriate procurement methods help in minimizing cost through effective competition, protection of public funds; timely delivery of quality projects at the right price, and provide high level of satisfaction for all its users.

However, she expressed concerns that in the light of the unwholesome situation in the built industry, the effectiveness and efficiency of these methods are not been deployed in Nigeria, thus, the result is failure of many project.

Adeyoye said the usage of the appropriate procurement methods in building production helps the clients including government, corporate or private developers to ensure and promote sustainable developments by utilizing available resources in the most efficient, transparent and ethical manner.

According to her, the passage of the public Procurement Act (PPA) 2017, which emphasises competence, appropriate pricing, structured funding, usage of standard and quality materials, amongst others, was meant or designed to entrench quality, efficiency and safety, in line with global best practices.

“It is a catalyst for success, a recipe for growth and the bedrock of sanity in every area of public procurement especially as it affects the construction sector,” she stated.

The Chairman, Lagos State chapter, Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), Adelaja Adekanmbi maintained that the time has come when builders in Nigeria needs to align themselves with procurement methods that would effectively manage time tested and valued building production processes in line with the acceptable global practices.

He said: “Appropriate procurement methods when holistically analysed at inception and put to use would undoubtedly help in reducing, if not eliminating cost overrun that culminate from extension of time due to unforeseen mistakes from any of the various stakeholders on such projects.”

A professor at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Chairman, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) Kabir Bala charged Nigerian builders to brace up and play effective role in procurement as the most trained stakeholder in the built sector by imbibing transparency, efficiency and timely delivery of quality projects.

NIOB President, Kunle Awobodu observed that due to faulty procurement method in the country, many foreign investors have stayed away from committing funds in Nigeria. He said Nigeria need to develop a procurement method that is suitable for the peculiarity of the nation.

“We need to continue advocacy on ways to improve the method of our procurement by drawing attention to the anomalies in the methods. Nigeria must make licensing compulsory for all builders and enforce the laws on construction. We need to consider the consequence for our errors in building production,” he added.