The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the fight against corruption in the procurement ecosystem.
A statement signed by the Head of Public Relations, BPP, Zira Zakka Nagga, said that the Director General of the BPP, Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, and the President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), signed the agreement at the national secretariat of the NBA in Abuja.
At the event, Adedokun said that the coming together of BPP and NBA to fight corruption on the procurement turf signalled a renewed hope and better future for Nigeria.
He stated that Osigwe was the first NBA president, on record, to have taken particular interest in procurement.
He said that the signing of the MoU represented a significant phase in the series of engagements that had been on over the years to bolster ethical standards in the procurement profession.
According to Adebowale, “We are happy that we have accomplished this partnership. The partnership will build trust in Nigerian people.
“With the signing of this MoU, NBA and BPP will be well fortified to work for the Nigerian people. The MoU also shows how well BPP places the NBA in the scheme of things.
“Therefore, if the NBA is not playing a critical role, it means we are not ready for business because procurement is about the law.”
The DG said that with the NBA now onboard the train of procurement reforms, he was rest assured that contract agreements with the Nigerian people would henceforth be protected.
“I want to assure the NBA President that henceforth, capacity building, taking actions, and imposing sanctions will be our priorities,” he stated.
He, however, noted that the MoU could be updated even as he pleaded with the NBA to help the BPP to exclude unfavourable terms in contract agreements.
According to him, “While we are not averse to lawyers making money, we want them, more importantly, to save the country.”
Osigwe had, in his welcome remarks, recalled the recent visit of the association’s leadership to the BPP office where an agreement was reached in principle for the training of lawyers as procurement professionals.
He said the meeting reiterated that the BPP was to ensure transparent procurement and prevent corruption in the processes, adding that “until we look at our procurement processes to ensure transparency and accountability, a significant portion of public funds used in public procurement will end up in private pockets.”
