A non-governmental organisation, Accountability Lab Nigeria, has called on the Ekiti state government to support and be committed to ensuring accountability and transparency in public procurement processes through open contracting and e-procurement.
The group also advocated the need for legislative and policy reforms in the state and guaranteed the independence of the state procurement agency to achieve sustainable development in the interest of society.
The monitoring, evaluation and learning associate at Accountability Lab Nigeria, Alfred Agu stated this during an engagement tagged ‘All Stakeholders Consultative Meeting’ supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with media, civil society organizations, and procurement officers, amongst others in attendance.
Agu explained, “We are here to seek the support and commitment of the government to champion transparency, accountability, and gender inclusivity through open contracting and e-procurement practices, and advocate for necessary legislative and policy reforms.
“We are here to emphasize the critical role of open contracting and e-procurement in promoting good governance and public trust.
“We are also here to advocate for the continued and expanded implementation of gender-responsive procurement policies and to seek the Governor’s active support and leadership in overcoming current challenges and advancing these essential reforms.
“Other recommendations include: enhancing citizen engagement and data utilization, renewal and optimization of e-procurement, enhancing gender-inclusive procurement, allocation of sufficient funds for e-procurement systems, among others.”
While advocating for the autonomy of the state’s Bureau of Public Procurement, he stressed that it would enable them to work efficiently without any backlash from political heads.
“Procurement process is supposed to be transparent but there are interferences from heads of institutions or government interference, which actually negate the essence of accountability. There is a need for autonomy in order for them to actually make decisions on their own.”
He argued that direct labour by heads of public institutions should be minimized by implementing the procurement threshold, which must be in line with the Public Procurement Law of Ekiti state.
“Direct labour in procurement, particularly by heads of public institutions, should be minimized as it often contradicts global standards of transparency and accountability.
“There should be implementation of a threshold that restricts direct labour in procurement to minor, routine items, ensuring that all significant procurements follow the Public Procurement Law (PPL) of Ekiti State. This alignment with international best practices will reinforce transparency and fairness,” he said.
An official of the State Bureau of Public Procurement, Samuel Ogundare, said the stakeholders’ meeting has offered more insights on the need for government and procuring agencies to be inclusive and transparent, ” by ensuring that data is frequently uploaded on the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) portal for citizens to use in order for them to hold government accountable for any projects executed.”
Also, the Executive Director of Inspiration Care and Development Centre (ICDC), Olowolayemo Lawrence called on the state government to be open and accountable in order to gain the trust of Ekiti citizens.
. TheWitness
