By Daniel Tyokua
The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi with Director-General of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun have met and re-examined ways that would help to correct grey areas that lead to delay in project evaluation and delivery.
The duo believed that the core mandates of the BPP, among others, are to foster accountability, consistency in pricing, effectiveness in contract execution, and value for money.
Umahi, therefore, urged the BPP to see delay as one of the greatest inhibitors to the objectives of the establishment of the body, and work towards addressing the bureaucracies.
A statement on Wednesday, by Special Adviser (Media) to the minister, Uchenna Orji, called for deliberate efforts to remove all bureaucratic constraints to project evaluation by the Bureau.
He said, “We seek closer cooperation and collaboration to enable the ministry to fastrack delivery of the road infrastructure projects inherited and those initiated by the Renewed Hope administration.
“When we came on board, we insisted on best practices, and we introduced innovations to ensure we give Nigerians enduring road infrastructure that is fit for purpose. We therefore need a collaborative resolve to end unnecessary delays in the procurement processes.”
The minister highlighted that different procurement methods, including restrictive, selective, and competitive bidding measures are geared towards achieving value for money and effective service delivery to Nigerians.”
On his part, the Director-General of BPP, Dr. Adedokun, commended the Minister for the purposeful initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Works.
He assured him of enhanced synergies with the Ministry so that the noble objectives of the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu on the works sector would be achieved.
Adedokun said, “The interesting thing about you is that you don’t fail in your duty, which I have observed. You start, you end with something that is unique about you, and you’re passionate about what you want to do. We are glad when you extended the invitation for us to come here.
“We know you see BPP as a worthy partner towards ensuring that Mr. President’s objectives in respect of road infrastructure are achieved timely, transparently, and well-accounted.”
He thanked the minister for the initiative to hold the meeting to discuss areas of procurement challenges.
“We are here to hear your challenges, and for us to also hear our own challenges and reach an understanding of how to make sure we work together to achieve the same goal for logical completion.
“From my experience in this job over the years, Works is an arm of government that Nigerians see every day. They talk about it every day. If there is the agency or parastatal or ministry, that if things fail, then all Nigerians will shout against Mr. President, it is the Ministry of Works.
“So we place serious premium on closely working with you to ensure we deliver on the mandates in a way that value for money is achieved, in a way that sustainability of what we have on ground is improved upon and even the quality of the roads that we deliver.
“I think our partnership with you, Your Excellency, is that the quality of the roads that we see, must return back to the days when we constructed a road that 25 years later, is still intact.”
