Yobe concludes training on Public Procurement Law

December 03, 2017 04:45:09 PM Published by: PERL
Participants paying attention to the facilitator of the Public Procurement Training 

The Yobe State Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), in collaboration with the Accountable, Responsive and Capable (ARC) Government Pillar of the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), has trained Directors of Planning, Research and Statistics (DPRS), and Local Government Directors of Personnel Management (DPM) on the State Procurement Law.

The six-day training, which was declared open by the Executive Governor of the State, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, represented by Yobe State Commissioner of Finance, Muhammad Ismaila Nguru, was designed to improve the knowledge of the participants on the provisions of the Yobe State Public Procurement Law 2016, with a view to improve implementation of the Law. The training which contains seven parts was attended by 70 participants, who were divided into two batches for effective learning.

Below is the outline of the training:

  • Part 1:The Public Procurement Law and Modern Approach to Procurement
  • Part 2: Strengthening Integrity in Procurement
  • Part 3: Key Features of the Public Procurement Law
  • Part 4: Good Practice during the Procurement Cycle
  • Part 5: Procurement of Consultancy Services
  • Part 6: Procurement of Non-Intellectual Services
  • Part 7: Procurements Below the Threshold for Tendering

The implementation of the Yobe State Procurement Law is expected to achieve the following:

  • More efficient conduct of tendering
  • Contracts awarded to supplier offering best value
  • Professionalization of public procurement function
  • Reduced opportunities for corruption and malpractices
  • Good governance
    • Institutionalised due process
    • Dividends of democracy delivered to citizens
We have been taught how to begin the procurement process, most importantly the Public Procurement Law, which the Yobe State House of Assembly as been able to pass. Most of the issues have been practical and we have been able to go through some of the documents that are necessary. And the types of tender, the tender processes, the membership of the tender evaluation committees at the MDAs level, and so on. I think it's been a very laudable program and we enjoyed the workshop really, because it's been interactive and we have been able to make contributions while the discussions were going on.

- Amina Umar Galadima, Acting Head of Investment and Capital Market, Yobe Investment Company
First, I will commend the organisers of this training because it's timely, it cam at a time when the restructuring of the whole system is in process. So a lot of things need to be put in place so that the system will work. With this training, a lot of stakeholders will understand the PPL and how to implement it in their various MDAs.

- Halimatu Lamido, Director Planning, Research & Statistics, Yobe State

Meanwhile, the representative of the National Programme Manager of PERL, Mallam Auwalu Hamza has described the partnership between DFID and Yobe State as historic because it started a long time ago. He commended the Yobe State Government for its resilience, commitment and putting in place structures that would ensure sustainability. He said, “In terms of resilience, we have seen how the partnership between DFID and Yobe State Government has produced a public service management core group”. He added that the members of the established core group that retired were brought into the service, as advisers, to provide guidance on civil service reforms and ensure sustainability.

While making remarks on behalf of the Governor, Muhammad said, “The conveying of the workshop (training) is a welcome development considering the structures put in place by the state government to instil the principle of accountability, prudence to curtail unnecessary expenditure and adhere to due process in the conduct of government business”.

“I wish to emphasize that the establishment of the Council of Procurement and the Bureau was part of our desire and commitment to further entrench prudence in the management of our state resources, with the introduction of open competitive bidding, achieving long-term macroeconomic stability, and added value for money spent”, said the Commissioner.

In his speech, the Director-General, Yobe State Bureau of Public Procurement, Ligali Maaji, said the Bureau was not set up to witch-hunt anybody. According to him, the Bureau is meant to guide accessing MDAs and local government to ensure judicious spending of public funds.