W/Bank tasks FG on procurement procedures

Making the call on Monday at the opening session of a Procurement Management training workshop organised by Ibadan Business School (IBS) in partnership with the World Bank, the African Regional Lead Procurement Specialist of the global financial institution, Chief Bayo Awosemusi, specifically enjoined the government to implement all procurement legal frameworks to the letter and ensure transparency and equity in the distribution and participation of infrastructural installations.
While noting that “corruption in the system comes out around procurement because that is where people can get undue benefits to themselves if the rules and regulations are not thoroughly followed,” the World Bank chief remarked that where there are noticeable challenges, government should identify them and proffer solutions or mitigation measures to address them.
He advised procurement officers in the federal and state governments to always endeavour to have personal integrity, dedication and commitment and be accountable, saying that “without getting procurement right, we cannot get governance right.”
Awosemusi disclosed that the World Bank was currently reviewing its procurement policies with a view to incorporating the working environments, identified challenges and best practices.
Speaking earlier, the former Head of Service of the Federation, Professor Oladapo Afolabi, who is the Chairman, Governing Council of Ibadan Business School, emphasised the need for public officers to always improve on their professional skills and not necessarily put premium only on their paper qualifications, to add value to the system. The President, Ibadan Business School, Chief Yinka Fasuyi, expressed concern that the public sector governance business in the continent and Nigeria in particular, has, over the years, suffered huge setbacks due in part to poor leadership capacity especially in the public sector organisations considered the major drivers of the economies in developing nations.
“Consequently, Ibadan Business School has been established in view of the conspicuous need to address the dearth in the capacity needs of Public Sector Governance Business at Local, State and Federal levels as well as attend to the business capacity development of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs that are increasingly being seen as a positive driver of economic development, while not jettisoning the organised private sector,” he said.