CIPSMN inducts new members into purchasing and supply industry

Professional procurement and supply managers have been admonished to uphold high ethical standards and integrity in discharging their duties, in order to avoid recurrence of contract and financial scandals which have been the focus of media coverage in recent times.

The charge was given as the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) inducted members of its 2016 Group ‘A’ having completed various qualification examinations.

Diekola Oyewo, President of CIPSMN admonished the inductees, saying “As professionals, you will be entrusted with huge sums of money for making purchases and as a consequence, there is every likelihood that pressures will be mounted on you by your immediate superior, colleagues from other functions, the suppliers, etc. to exercise partiality with regards to purchases. You as professionals must contend with various aspects of ethical conduct that relates to the procurement role from differing stand points.”

“Please note that professionalism and ethics are Siamese twins. Any attempt to separate them is sure to bring disrepute, not only to the offenders but also to the employers, the nation at large and the offender’s families,” said Oyewo.

Mohammed Aliyu, registrar of CIPSMN noted that “as an indigenous institute whose activities are central to the strategic structuring and lubrication of the nation’s economy, the responsibility of the CIPSMN and her professional members not only onerous but indeed of prime importance to our developing nation when viewed against the backdrop of the $2.1 billion arms procurement scam and other associates corrupt practices that abound in our dear country. Even those who believe that procurement was still in its infancy stage or an activity to be dispensed with, have within the past few months learnt a new lesson that one cannot really afford to ignore the procurement function which is currently used as a conduit pipe by unprofessional handlers.”

Aliyu furthered implored the inductees asking them to be “good ambassadors of our great institute and desist from any forms of corruption associated with procurement or otherwise. We need to reason together as well as partner with government despite the hardship we are facing to turn around the economy of this great country for better and all hands must be on deck to achieve this.”

In a paper delivered at the induction, John Edom, a management consultant specialising in procurement and materials management said “if due process in the procurement of arms was followed, the shocking revelations emanating from the on-going arms probe on the embezzlement of $2.16 billion meant for procurement of arms to fight insurgency and reduce the suffering (of Nigerians) would not have occurred.”

Edom added that “the bulk of corrupt practices in Nigeria today are linked to public procurement, which accounts for about 70 percent of government’s daily activities. The public procurement act 2007 and CIPSMN act 2007 are special legislation of the National Assembly to curb corruption and to improve unprofessional procurement practice in Nigeria. Thus, it is the duty of the federal government to give effect to these respective special legislations of the national assembly.”

Like most Nigerian professional bodies, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria can trace its origin to the Nigerian arm of the British owned Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management, now Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Management (CIPS UK). It regulates the activities of professionals in the purchasing and supply cadre across all sectors.

Caleb Ojewale  & Chigozie Egwuatu