Procurement Professionals Blame Quacks For Substandard Projects

The Association of Procurement Professionals of Nigeria (APPON) has blamed the engagement of unqualified persons or quacks in the procurement and supply chain management for substandard projects across the country, such as failed roads and collapsed buildings.

The president of APPON Dr Emem Kanico, disclosed this at the 5th Annual National Conference of the association,  in Maiduguri with the theme “Mainstreaming Public Procurement Practice for Effective Budget Implementation”.

Dr Kanico noted that a lot of quacks are roaming departments calling themselves procurement practitioners, hence the country is witnessing failed roads, falling houses and corruption everywhere, saying that certified procurement professionals, if allowed to carry out their duties, would know the value they would add to projects.

He said at the end of the conference, participants would be abreast with the techniques for implementing the government’s budgets and ensuring value for money spent and its fitness.

The president said the choice of hosting the conference in Maiduguri is a gesture of solidarity with the State’s members who have supported them in the last five years and a way to show the world that Maiduguri and Borno State in general are not all about violence.

“Without effective budget implementation, whatever you are doing to implement government policies will fail. At the end of the conference, participants would be abreast with new techniques for implementing government budgets and making sure that value for money and its fitness purpose is achieved,” he said.

In his remarks, Borno State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Umar Lawan Dalorima, commended APPON for holding the 5th Annual National Conference in Maiduguri, noting that the conference had cleared the notion of violence about Borno, the home of peace as testified by the president of the association, Dr Emem Kanico, who expressed satisfaction with the quantum of projects executed by the state governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, as well as the peaceful nature of the city.

Dalorima said the conference is all about laying down blueprints for projects and implementing same just like making promises and fulfilling them.

He added that the procurement professionals would ensure that in everywhere, whether in the states, organisations or MDAs, what was budgeted would be implemented.

Chief executive officer of the Public and Private Development Centre ( PPDC) ,Lucy James Abagi, highlighted PPDC’s journey in championing, citizen participation and procurement reforms in Nigeria.

She said that over the years, PPDC has been championing procurement reforms in Nigeria by ensuring that all State governments adopt open contracting data standards and that all implementing agencies adopt them. This has helped further ensure that procurement data is made accessible to citizens so that they can use it to request more information, monitor different projects earmarked, and generate revenue over the years.