By Sodiq Adelakun
In an assessment of Nigeria’s procurement infrastructure, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared that systemic incompetence and lack of coordination threaten transparency and accountability across public procurement processes.
During a high-level meeting at Lagos House, Marina, Sanwo-Olu told visiting executives of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) that without sustained investment in human capital and process standardization, Nigeria’s procurement system would remain vulnerable and inefficient.
Sanwo-Olu issued the warning while hosting CIPS Global CEO Ben Farrell and Regional Director Sam Achampong, emphasizing that decades of advocacy for procurement reform are being undermined by inadequate capacity-building measures.
He said: “For us, especially in Lagos State, we have been a strong advocate and a convert of a well-coordinated, transparent procurement process. We pride ourselves that we are one of the first governments and bodies to have institutionalised and started a public procurement process.”
Drawing on his long-standing involvement in Lagos’ procurement reform efforts, Sanwo-Olu traced the timeline of progress back to his early days in government.
He added: “I was privileged to be in government 15 years ago when the conversation started, and we were quick to set up relevant agencies. But over time, one of the things we realised is that we need to also continue to spread out competency. We need to continue to ensure that capacity is deepened and is enriched.”
He pointedly noted that without adequate training and systems thinking, even well-established agencies fall short.
CIPS, a global body with members in over 180 countries, acknowledged the urgency of Nigeria’s procurement challenges and pledged direct intervention through institutional support and knowledge transfer.
“We are here to support you for the prosperity of Nigeria, to build on the great work of the team in recent years. We came to say that we are going to establish a permanent presence here to work with the Nigerian public and private sector to provide capacity building to drive competence for the benefit and the prosperity of Nigeria,”said Ben Farrell, Global CEO of CIPS.
According to Farrell, capacity-building is not an optional exercise but a foundational requirement for a functioning procurement system.
“We feel that spreading the knowledge and the competency will really benefit this nation,” he said.
“There’s still a lot to learn, and more to institutionalize,” the governor said, urging both state and federal actors to move beyond policies and into rigorous implementation backed by training and enforcement.