FG to begin electronic procurement from 2023
The Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Mr. Dasuki Arabi said as part of reforms in Nigeria’s civil service, the federal government is set to commence electronic procurement next year.
Mr Arabi stated this while making a presentation at a one day capacity building workshop organised by the Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch (CeFTIW) in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Service Reforms.
The workshop, which had civil society organisations, ministries departments and agencies of government, paramilitary agencies and the media had the theme “Deepening fiscal transparency measures in Nigeria.”
He said “As part of our reforms in the public service space especially in the area of enhancing transparency, the federal government is setting up modalities to ensure that by 2033, all procurement processes of the federal government will be done 100 per cent electronically.
“Also, we have launched the National Strategy on Public Service Reforms to boost transparency in fiscal management, as such, by 2025, we want Nigeria to be among the top countries in public fiscal management.”
Arabi noted that the technology is currently playing a key role in the reforms of the federal government through the Government Integrated Financial Management Systems (GIFMIS) to monitor budget implementation while pledging the commitment of the Bureau to partner with media in facilitating government’s financial transparency.
Also speaking, the Chairman Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Barr. Victor Muruako said it was important for the media to be proactive in tracking the budget transparency level of government agencies.
Bakari who was represented by Mr. Charles Abana, Director, Legal Investigation and Enforcement of the commission said “Before the budget is presented, the medium-term expenditure framework must be approved to show the plan of the government, all these are processes that need to be tracked by the media.”
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Executive Director of CeFTIW, Yakubu Umar said one of the challenges of government agencies is the lack of interest in ensuring due process in its activities.
“We have noticed that MDAs are reactive rather than proactive in ensuring transparency and accountability in their activities. As such, this workshop is important to fast track transparency and engage the media to find ways of holding officials accountable,” he said.