By Aderogba George
A coalition of civil society and regional development organisations has called on Nigerians to embrace the Public Procurement Reforms of President Bola Tinubu.
The coalition, operating under the auspices of the Northern Youth Integrity Group (NYIG) and the Oduduwa Development Initiative (ODI), made the call at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.
Mr Malcolm Adakole, Coordinator of NYIG, said public procurement reform was a central component of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and was designed to correct structural weaknesses that had plagued the country for many years.
According to him, the reforms are aimed at addressing inefficiency, cost inflation, procedural abuse and weak value-for-money outcomes in public spending.
Adakole said Nigeria could not achieve sustainable economic growth, infrastructure renewal or improved service delivery if public procurement remained opaque, discretionary and resistant to oversight.
“The current reform trajectory seeks to entrench discipline, predictability, transparency and professionalism within the procurement ecosystem.
“The ongoing reform measures include the rationalisation of procurement approval thresholds, strengthening of prior-review and compliance mechanisms, standardisation of bidding and evaluation documents, enforceable sanctions against defaulting contractors, and a gradual transition towards a comprehensive electronic procurement system.
“It must be stated clearly that meaningful reform inevitably generates resistance. Systems that benefited from weak controls and informal influence are unsettled by rules-based governance,” he said.
Adakole added that the organisations had chosen to stay away from unsubstantiated allegations, despite pressure from external actors seeking to use civil society groups to settle personal scores with individuals in government.
Also speaking, Mr Akinyele Olasumbo, National President of ODI, said civil society advocacy must be evidence-based and responsible, stressing that the organisations would reject sponsored narratives.
Olasumbo said the coalition would not lend support to anonymous claims or coordinated misinformation campaigns that undermine reform under the guise of accountability.
“Our position remains firm: procurement reform is a governance necessity and must be protected from politicisation and rollback,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
AG/TAK