The National Assembly said President Muhammadu Buhari could actually use the electronic procurement, or e-procurment system to stimulate economic development of the country instaed of seeking emergency powers to do so.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Procurement, Dr Oluwole Oke, who stated thi while addressing a gathering of professional procurement officers in Abuja, however said Buhariโs request for emergency economic powers can be robustly tackled with the e-procurement system.
โThis is the best time to look into e-public procurements in Nigeria because we are in recession. The economy must be stimulated through increased public spending. The Federal Government has pledged to roll out stimulus package, but this move alone will not sufficiently address the economic challenges we are facing,โ he said.
Oke said the good intentions of the government โcan only succeed if it meets the expected mandate. Time is of the essence, this is where e-procurement comes in.
โWe need not be scared, countries that have refined their procurement systems have introduced e-procurement, or digital procurement and this has reduced procurement cost, improved administrative efficiency, streamlined processes, minimised corruption, enhanced superb benchmarking in the selection of most competent suppliers and bidders and excellent value for money.
โThere are ongoing amendments to the current procurement laws in both chambers and I can confirm that the public hearing has been concluded by the House of Representatives and the proposals for the procurement bill have been sent to relevant committees of the National Assembly,โ he stated.
Oke agued that one of the basic tools that Buhari needs to humble corruption is the Procurement Act. โWe have been hearing that some people are toying with the idea of emergency powers so that they can fast-track procurement processes in Nigeria. What you need to do this is e-procurement. It is a practice that has been adopted across the globe and it has worked. So, all Mr. President needs to resuscitate the economy and to humble corruption in the public sector is to deploy the procurement laws,โ he said.
He lamented that the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) has no council. โA council should be inaugurated. Thank God the Act is undergoing review in the House. If there are views or areas those who are thinking of emergency powers for Mr. President, want us to address, now they have the opportunity to do so,โ he said.
Oke stated that โif e-procurement is adopted, you are going to maximise your gains by minimising the cost. Then, you are going to eliminate substantially corruption because everybody can see through the window. Manpower will be saved, because it is going to be auto. We are going to identify procurers and suppliers at best prices across the globe. The issue of members of the executive or people working in one ministry or agency shortchanging Nigerians will no longer be there.โ
