… insists a pool officer from Ministry of Justice can’t manage procurement matters

…as a matter of urgency, AGF, SGF, HoCSF should Wade into this matter

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

A transparency group, Transparency and Anti-Corruption Campaign in Africa (TRACA), has demanded that President Bola Tinubu must immediately correct an abnormality caused by the immediate past Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) – Mamman Ahmadu.

Recall that President Tinubu had on June 14 fired the then DG and ordered that the most senior officer in BPP should immediately take over from him.

In a statement issued and signed by its Executive Director, Steve Orovwuje , the group kicked against a situation where the immediate past DG handed over to a junior officer beneath three (3) directors.

At this critical time of the economy of the Nation, the Public Procurement is germane and is a strategic tool to help generate fiscal savings and sustainable outcomes including promotion of local markets and jobs.

This will allow for impartial and open competition, thereby ensuring fair prices for goods, services and improved quality. Public Procurement can be a very effective way to achieve cost- effective outcomes through economies of scale and improved quality control which the Nation needs urgently to ensure Mr. President achieves his Renewed Hope Agenda expediently and effectively.

In view of the sensitivity of the BPP to achieve these and expectation of a highly professional and knowledgeable leadership we conducted an investigation regarding the recent handover and gathered that the current Ag. Director-General of the BPP is not the most senior officer as it is being claimed. There exist three (3) other Directors on level 17 who apparently are his senior based on steps in their grade level.

“As a transparency group we cannot allow this corrupt move and bad governance by the former DG to stand,” noting that: “Mamman Ahmadu, FNIQS, who handed over power to the Director of Legal Services, a pool officer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, posted to the Bureau barely a year ago.

President Tinubu should please make correction in the BPP as a junior officer cannot direct the affairs of the establishment over three (3) Senior Directors in an office where Due Process is expected to be highly upheld and enshrined.

This decision directly contradicts the circular issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, referenced SGF/OP/I/S.3/T/39, dated 28th August 2019 as
“Paragraph 2(b) of the aforementioned circular states that “pending the appointment of a substantive Head of Extra-Ministerial Departments, Director General, Chief Executive Officers of parastatals, Agencies, Commissions, and Government-owned companies, outgoing CEO, without any form of discretion, must hand over to the next most senior officer of the establishment as long as the officer does not have any pending disciplinary matter.

We therefore appeal to Mr. President to direct the appropriate agencies and investagive bodies to look into these abnormalities in order to avoid the abuse of the Public Service, unnecessary rancour within the Bureau and to ensure it does not become a bad precedence in the Public Service.

“We know President Tinubu is an apostle of equity and fair play and we fervently hope that this wrong must be adequately corrected.

“The AGF, SGF, HoCSF should note this massive abnormality in BPP and act.