The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) has appealed to the Federal Government to source test kits and vaccines for coronavirus (COVID-19) from agents accredited by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Rising from an enlarged meeting of the National Executive Council of the Institute in Lagos, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alhaji Muhammed Aliyu, also warned the federal government against politicizing the processes of acquiring vaccines, stressing the need to engage the services of professional procurers and liaise with international organizations.
According to him, coronavirus is taking a massive toll on the economy, and as such, planning becomes imperative.
“Anything short of this could mess up the year 2020 budget implementation. Any budget that does not have procurement planning will not be effectively implemented because budget is expended on acquisition of materials, works and services.
“World Bank says that 80 percent of any country’s budget goes into procurement, contract and services. So, it is the duty of procurement professionals to advise government on how to go about this to ensure sound management.
“Unfortunately, the Nigerian Government has not been forthcoming in this regards and that explains the shoddy implementation of the country’s budget,” Aliyu said.
A Fellow of the Institute and Coordinator, North-Central zone, Malam Abdul Mamman, also called on government to make adequate plan for COVID-19 procurement as an emergency situation that is out of the normal routine procedure and competitive selection.
He described procurement as part of the public sector finance management portfolio, stating that all public procurement must be planned and integrated into the budget backed by appropriation.
“There is a window through international best practice that allows you to make use of opportunities available. We must not play politics with the outbreak.
“The government should seek assistance from the WHO to direct the country on where they could get what is required in terms of vaccines,” he stressed.
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