The director-general of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun, said that the agency had trained no fewer than 8,000 procurement officers to ensure transparency, accountability, and value for money in procurement processes.

Mr Adedokun disclosed this at the 2025 Mandatory Continuous Public Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme for the Batch B 300 participants in Port Harcourt on Monday.

The DG commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the new policies and reforms in BPP that could enable the agency to carry out a procurement system that would benefit the country.

Mr Adedokun stated that the agency was committed to implementing and improving procurement systems for Nigerians’ benefit.

According to him, the BPP is building on previous administrations’ foundation, strengthening the system, addressing loopholes, and closing corrupt tendency gaps.

He noted that a national framework on career development was planned which requires procurement officers to show proof of self-development and good practices annually.

Mr Adedokun mentioned that the agency had been monitoring procurement activities in collaboration with the national team, civil society, and professional bodies to study individuals with impeccable integrity.

“We ensure procurement audits are done, and procurement is carried out openly through entity bidding. Our next target is to sanction any MDA, officer, or individual contravening the law.

“We have also introduced reforms, including revised procurement thresholds, Standard Bidding Documents, and an upgraded Procurement Manual,” he said.

He highlighted that the electronic submissions would be mandatory from March 1.

Mr Adedokun warned that any officer found guilty of procurement misconduct would face prosecution or posting out.

The DG urged participants to engage seriously with the training, carry out all the directives given to them at the course of the training.

He mentioned that any participation that failed to reach the 60 per cent pass mark after the final examination would not be certified.

The former director-general of the Bureau of Public Procurement, Emeka Ezeh, also urged participants to become ambassadors of procurement reform and transparency.

Mr Ezeh, who is the chairman, Civil Service Commission FCT,  expressed his support for the current BPP director-general, stating that he needs the participants’ backing to drive reforms in the procurement sector.

The former DG, who is also the keynote speaker at the occasion, stressed on the need for Nigerians to support the BPP reforms to ensure that all the 300 participants got fired with enthusiasm and commitment to do things right in their offices after their training.

He emphasised on the importance of digital transformation in enhancing transparency and reducing human interference in decision-making.

“The digital connection is the way the whole world is going, where you reduce human interference in decision making. That makes it easier and transparent,” he said.

Mr Ezeh appealed to Nigerian leaders to support the BPP’s efforts, stating that when the Bureau says no, it’s not against anyone, but a commitment to getting things done right.

He noted that the president had given his full support to the BPP, and any opposition to the Bureau’s efforts would be against the President’s wishes.

Mr Ezeh urged the participants to form a critical mass of future leaders that would drive the procurement system forward.

In his remark, the managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, said that the agency had embraced digital transformation to boost transparency and efficiency in its operations.

Mr Ogbuku stated that the commission was working to automate all departments and train staff to be information technology service compliant, aligning with the federal government’s directive to digitalise operations.

The NDDC MD emphasised that digitalisation would enhance transparency, making it easier for the public to track the commission’s activities.

“When files are on the screen, I always have a feeling that this is where corruption comes from. But once things are digital, it’s easier for people outside to check what the institution is doing. For us, that’s transparency.

“The commission has already initiated the digitalization process, setting up a project verification and payment committee to verify projects and capture them in a digitized database for e-payments, this will be fully implemented by March,” he stated.

(NAN)