The Kwara State Acting Head of Service, Dr. Olufunke Mercy Shittu, has assured the State Public Procurement Agency (KW-PPA) of support for the institutionalization of Annual Procurement Plans across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the state.
Shittu gave the assurance during a visit by the management team of KW-PPA, led by the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, QS. Raheem Abdulbaki, to her office in Ilorin.
The Head of Service commended KW-PPA for the initiative, describing it as a laudable development that would reduce unnecessary delays and the back-and-forth associated with budget and procurement processes.
She noted that institutionalizing annual procurement planning would make procurement activities across MDAs more proactive and systematic rather than reactive, and she assured the agency of the full backing of the state government.
Shittu commended KW-PPA for its professional support and advice to the state government on procurement-related procedures, noting that such collaboration had contributed to ensuring that processes were properly handled and complied with established requirements.
She assured the agency of continued efforts to provide befitting and conducive office accommodation, stressing that a comfortable working environment was essential for improved productivity.
The Acting Head of Service lauded the resilience and resourcefulness of KW-PPA in managing its current accommodation challenges and reiterated her commitment to working with the agency for the successful implementation of the Annual Procurement Planning initiative.
Earlier, the KW-PPA General Manager said the visit was aimed at seeking the support of the state government to ensure that Annual Procurement Plans become an institutional requirement for all MDAs and are prepared early enough to feed into the state’s annual budget process.
He explained that effective procurement planning would align procurement needs with budgetary provisions, facilitate early procurement activities, improve budget implementation and expenditure management, and strengthen transparency, accountability, and value for money.
According to him, the initiative will promote better market assessment, the aggregation of similar requirements, appropriate procurement packaging, and realistic cost estimation, thereby moving the state from reactive to more strategic and coordinated procurement practices.
He proposed collaboration among the Office of the Head of Service, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the Ministry of Finance, and KW-PPA to provide the necessary institutional framework for the initiative.
The KW-PPA manager assured that the agency was ready to provide guidelines, templates, technical support, and capacity development to enable MDAs to effectively prepare and implement their procurement plans.
Also, the Director of Administration and Finance, Mrs. Florence Balogun, commended the management of the State Public Procurement Agency for the visit and its continued cooperation with the office.
She described the Annual Procurement Planning initiative as timely and beneficial to effective public administration, assuring the agency of the office’s continued support and collaboration.