Adekojo harps on benefits of e-procurement as ex-UNILAG VC Ogundipe, others honoured………Yar’Adua bags posthumous award

CHINYERE IKEANYI

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Funmi Ayinke Nigeria Limited, Engr. (Dr.) Funmilayo Waheed Adekojo, has said the electronic procurement (e-procurement} was a “viable tool for transparency, efficiency, competition, integrity, and cost saving”.

Dr. Adekojo, the Keynote Speaker, stated this while delivering a paper on “Implementation of E-Procurement In Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges” at the 3^rd Annual National Conference/Induction & Awards Ceremony (EKO 2023} organised by the Association of Public Procurement Practitioners Nigeria (APPON) held at Raddison Blu Hotel Ikeja in Lagos recently.

Stating that the introduction of e-procurement in Nigeria offered great prospects for improving government procurement practices, she said the Federal Government’s announcement of a pilot programme to switch to the E-Procurement platform was encouraging “because it is anticipated to save the nation a significant amount of money that is lost through the implementation of the present Public Procurement Act, which is paper-dependent”.

Dr. Adekojo, who said improved data management was part of the benefits of e-procurement, further stated: “Electronic procurement can improve data management by providing a central system for storing and analyzing procurement data. This helps identify trends and improve decision making”.

She enumerated challenges of inadequate internet access and other infrastructure shortfalls, and proffered solutions on what governments and institutions must do to turn around the fortunes of Nigeria.

Quoting former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Adekojo also reiterated that for Nigeria to achieve transparency and efficiency, e-Procurement is an inevitable option.

“For perspective, what exactly is e-procurement? The e-Procurement system is an internet-based purchasing system targeted at simplifying commercial transactions and documentation between organizations. It simply seeks to automate and streamline procurement processes using the Internet.

“As we are aware, e-Procurement for an organization is a portal that facilitates corporate buying and selling of goods or services through the Internet. Its scope of engagement covers ordering, payments, and logistics.  It serves as an alternative to the manual procurement process and is unquestionably better in many ways”, she further stated.

She , however, said E-procurement portals could be very complex and challenging when not properly custom-tailored based on the people and purpose it serves, adding:.” A comprehensive catalogue of the men and materials should be on the ground so that the buyers and sellers can easily do business”.

Some of the challenges of the e-procurement, according to her, are: Internet Access Restrictions; Insufficient capacity; poor infrastructure; and Cyber security concerns.

She added that while inadequate infrastructure, such as power supply and communications, could also hinder the effective implementation of e-procurement, the use of electronic procurement systems also raises cyber security concerns. “Systems must be properly secured to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. To avoid this, the cyber security and integrity of the e-procurement processes should be top-notch”, she pointed out.

While 341 new members were inducted at the event, those who bagged awards included: Prof. Oluwatoyin  Ogundipe, immediate past VC of UNILAG; and Late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua,  who was given a posthumous award in recognition of his selfless service towards nation building; eight governors and several other technocrats, in Lagos.

Receiving the award on behalf of Yar’Adua, his relation, Alhaji Bashir Tanimu, said the former president who signed the Public Procurement Act 2007 into law, had zero tolerance for corruption.

Tanimu said Yar’Adua would be remembered for several legacies including return of seized Lagos Local Government allocations, dredging of the Niger, Niger Delta amnesty programme, and dedication to rule of law.

Also speaking, Prof. Ogundipe, immediate past VC of UNILAG, said being honoured by the association was another pointer vindicating him as deploying due process in issues of procurement while in the saddle of leadership of the institution.

The former Vice Chancellor, who received the Procurement Compliance Excellence Service Award in recognition and appreciation of his selfless service towards nation building and contribution to the development of APPON, advised other universities administrators to emulate policy of transparency and due process to procurement laws in the award of contracts, to save cost and ensure rapid development.

Ogundipe urged President Bola Tinubu to look into the procurement laws and work with the National Assembly towards having amendments for better implementation.

Earlier, the National President, APPON, Emem Kanico, said the boldness of Yar’Adua to sign BPP law gave opportunity for birth of his association.

Kanico, who also lauded outstanding contributions of the former UNILAG vice chancellor, appealed to all tiers of government and chief executives to shun undue interference and allow procurement officers to perform their duties freely.

The president also advocated special salary scale for procurement officers, to help them to withstand pressure of their jobs.

Apart from Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governors of Ogun, Bauchi, Oyo, Nassarawa, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun, also bagged the Procurement Compliance for Good Governance Award.

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission, Prof. UmarDanbatta, Johnson Akinwande, a former Chairman of the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and several captains of industry were also given awards.

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