Underhand dealings in public procurement contract can land you in jail — PS tells civil servants
By Abimbola Abatta
A Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Ismaila Abubakar, has cautioned procurement staff of the Ministry to refrain from any underhand dealings in public contract procurement, saying they are liable to be jailed without any option of fine.
In the same vein, the Director of procurement in the Ministry, Oke James Olusegun, stressed that all the staff (both procurement and non-procurement Staff) involved in the procurement process must understand and carry out their responsibilities according to the relevant laws and regulations governing procurement in Nigeria.
The duo gave the admonition recently at a workshop organized by the Ministry for the Procurement Planning Committee and Evaluation Committee members held at the Afolabi Hall, Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
In his address, the Permanent Secretary told the participants that, “In the Civil Service, all offences committed are attached with proportionate punishments ranging from verbal warning to dismissal from Service.
“None of the punishments provided for in the Public Services Rules or Financial Regulations carry imprisonment.
“It may interest you to note that any offence committed in the course of Public Procurement Process is punishable by imprisonment without even option of fine. You will therefore see why we have to pay attention to all rules and regulations governing public procurement process.”
On his part, the Director, Oke, stressed that in the Public Procurement Act (2007), “the Procurement Planning Committee and Evaluation Committee are critical points with vital roles in the Public Procurement Process.
“There may be need for us to note that the primary objective of Public Procurement is to deliver works, goods and services necessary to accomplish government missions in a timely, economically and efficient manner. To achieve these three goals, all the staff (both Procurement and Non-procurement) that are involved in the procurement process need to understand and carry out their responsibilities according to the relevant laws and regulations governing procurement in Nigeria.”
In his 18-month working experience in the Ministry, Oke said that he noticed the inadequacy of procurement staff, as well as, low capacity of non-procurement staff in the understanding of laws and regulations governing procurement process as provided in the Public Procurement Act (2007) and Financial Regulations. With the support of my Principals, Accounts and Audit Staff, we have been able to educate and change the orientation of some of these non-procurement staff. This was achieved through dialogue and personal interactions.
“However, the above scenario is not a sustainable one. Therefore, I believe there is need to build the system rather than personal interaction. I will like to suggest that the Director (Human Resources Management) should please give training on Procurement process (for all staff) priorities in the general training of the Ministry. With that, apart from strengthening the system, it will also advance the upliftment of individual staff as we progress in our career within the Civil Service System,” he said.
