Adebowale Adedokun, newly appointed Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has over 20 years of experience in public service. He has served as a national consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on procurement reforms, Nigeria’s representative in the International Research Study on Public Procurement (IRSPP), and a World Bank resource person on sustainable procurement.
Adedokun holds a PhD in Procurement and Supply Chain Management and four master’s degrees in procurement, finance, technology, and transportation management. In this interview with the Abuja BusinessDay team led by Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja Bureau Chief; Anthony Ailemen, Senior Correspondent; and Ladi Patrick-Okwoli, Adedokun speaks about his planned reforms in public procurement, leveraging data analytics, implementing advanced e-procurement systems, and strengthening oversight for transparency and efficiency. He also explains how BPP policies are helping the government grow revenues, with over N37bn in savings just within one month in office.
What are your strategic plans for the BPP and strategies to actualise them?
First, let me put it on record that your media organisation is well-acquainted with our work at BPP, and I appreciate your initiative in coming here to discuss our progress within my first 30 days as director-general. Secondly, I must express my gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for this rare privilege to lead this organisation as someone who has grown within the system as a pioneer staff. This appointment speaks volumes about the president’s commitment to professionalism and his desire to see procurement processes handled with integrity and efficiency. I believe his decision was informed by a deep understanding of the importance of procurement in driving national development, and I am honoured by his trust. I had the privilege of attending the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for 2024. Being my first, I chose to observe and carefully listen. What stood out to me was the clarity of the president’s vision for the nation—there was no ambiguity in his goals. The ministers also demonstrated a strong alignment with this vision, presenting well-structured programmes, projects, and initiatives aimed at achieving his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda,’ of which procurement is key. Procurement is the facilitator, and without effective procurement processes, this agenda risks stagnation.
That meeting put more pressure on me to do everything possible within the confines of the rules guiding public procurement in Nigeria to help translate or quicken the actualisation of these programmes. This realisation has reinforced my sense of responsibility. My focus is now laser-sharp on ensuring that procurement serves its purpose in governance. Therefore, everything we do at the bureau will be guided by the principles of time, value, and transparency to deliver results for a prosperous Nigeria.
What are your plans to strengthen transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public procurement?
As a bureau, our job is to provide an implementation strategy that will bring all the critical components together. If, for instance, the president wants to deliver on key road projects, we must work with the ministries of works, budget and finance, and other components to make it happen. But the central organ is procurement. Our job is to look through and work with all of them to ensure they have complied with the processes and that the projects have to be delivered within an agreed time frame. The period of execution has to be captured there, and the quality of what is being delivered matters. That is how important procurement is in helping to actualise the vision of any leader in this country. Beyond the president, procurement is what every leader at any level must pay attention to for good governance.
That said, I have adopted a pragmatic approach. I don’t want people to wait to get reports from us. We want to go and meet them, and I have started. The idea is to find out their problem in procurement and how we can help address their challenges within our own scope of duty specifically. I have already visited some key ministries. We had meaningful discussions on how to push procurement in a pragmatic way. In the last month of my being here, I have also engaged directors-general. The whole idea is to find customised solutions to address problems. This is part of my vision. Rather than sit down in the office and expect people to comply, we will, through a systematic approach, engage in awareness creation, provide simple and laid-down guidelines for enquiries, and other things needed to drive results. We don’t want to frighten people. We want them to be free to raise concerns because when you shut the door, people don’t have access to you, and they will find alternative solutions. This is how we can help government entities to function better.
The other part of our strategy is the relationship with the National Assembly. I think constitutionally, we must work together. I’ve also reached out to them, and we have all agreed to relate and collaborate better. I’m excited that they are very receptive to my scope of work in the last month. We will work with all the arms of the government.
We will also motivate staff who matter so much in any organisation. We will lead by example, providing the enabling environment to work, challenging them through rewards and consequences when people fail. I am holding every BPP staff member accountable. For any assignment given to you, I will hold you personally accountable. For any advice that you give that contravenes the law, I will hold you accountable. So, everybody is now on their toes. This applies to officers who deliberately cause the government to lose money through their advice. I intend to work closely with the permanent secretaries and chief executives in this New Year through interactions and retreats. We will tell them that procurement officers will be held accountable for their professional conduct. There is going to be a symbiotic relationship. Procurement officers who do well will be rewarded; appropriate sanctions will apply for those who do the wrong thing. We want the best from our workforce, and we will find ways within the confines of the rules and regulations to motivate them. In recent weeks, the same workforce has been churning out results; suddenly, everybody has upped their game. Now, you can come to BPP and be assured that in three weeks, you can get a response—whether a yes or no.
We have said that contractors are no longer allowed here. They should sit down in their place and do their work and allow us to do our own work. That way, we try to make the environment conducive for high performance from staff and fewer distractions. We are a compliant and regulatory body, not an implementing agency. BPP’s job is to give MDAs approval to go and implement. I am not here to check whether they should do 10 km of road, for instance. My job is to ensure that the projects are delivered for the best value and effectiveness. It’s my role to check that rules are followed; the procurement method being adopted is right, builds public confidence, and helps government to deliver timely; and that all the needed approvals are gotten—the tender board approval, procurement planning approval, the cost, and the contractor selection. Those are what the BPP is concerned about. We are concerned about selection and the quality of contractors and the end results.
Before now, people said we were delayed, and that’s because in the last few years, BPP has taken the role of implementation on behalf of MDAs. What the MDAs do is push their responsibility on us, and we take all the bashing. That is not good; it is changing now. MDAs should take responsibility. If the presidency is going to build a road or construct a school, you should start your process on time. But we see situations where people come towards the end of the year for projects. This has to change, and that is why I insist on being pragmatic. Clearly, the new initiative is that every month, MDAs must submit to us reports of all their contract awards. I issued that instruction in December. Secondly, I will invite all non-performing agencies quarterly to a meeting to understand what their problem is, why they have not performed. Where I find that they deliberately refused to perform, necessary actions will be taken. That is the strategy, and I hope all the MDAs know that it is no longer business as usual.
What insights are you getting from your interactions so far?
What I’ve found out is miscommunication and lack of clarity. In the places I have visited, there seems to be no clear-cut communication between BPP and MDAs. You see, when people are not sure of what you are doing, they can assume. So, the key thing from my interactions is that we have not been communicating with each other, so we assume this is how the rules should be applied. The rules are there, though, but we are supposed to give them clarity; that is what we are committed to. Secondly, the non-use of professionals. You find a lot of them using ad-hoc staff and people who have not been trained to carry out procurement functions. Thirdly, there seems to be this lackadaisical attitude about processes—a nothing will happen attitude. Sanctions and incentives seem to be lacking. But by the time they see that the government is serious about taking on people who violate the law, everybody will sit up.
Do you need new legislation to energise your strategy?
Honestly, the law we have today is of global standard, one of the best in the world. But the real deal is implementation. What I am trying to do now is to find a way of implementing the law as it is. We have also identified a few gaps in the law, and the president has sent an executive amendment bill to the National Assembly. We will soon start interacting with the National Assembly on areas that need to be amended. But my take is, if you have not tested the law, how do you amend it? It will shock you to know that the BPP has 21 functions in the law. We have barely scratched the surface. So, you can imagine if we take the 21 functions and translate them into performances, this country will change for good.
All we need is leadership to implement these provisions. There is nothing you want to talk about that is not found in that law and the documents that we issue. We want to see how we can educate Nigerians and stakeholders about our roles. I have given you some areas; the engagement continues. This month, I will be going to key ministries to enquire about their procurement challenges and take feedback. I have found intelligent people in the National Assembly, people who have passion for good governance. They are elected, so they need to serve their people. And one of the ways to serve them is through bringing the dividends of democracy. My role is to tell them how to do it within the confines of the law in order to deliver.
What’s BPP’s role in checking inflated contracts?
It is not always true that projects are inflated in Nigeria, and I am saying this with all sense of sincerity. The problem is that people don’t believe there is fairness and competition. It is not even about the cost; it is the fact that people just assume that the project has been given to someone who just prices it the way he likes. No! In any case, we have set up price intelligence and benchmarking. This is to constantly monitor prices locally and internationally, such that once we see a price that is outside the range, we flag it. We are enforcing the categorisation and classification of contractors in Nigeria. There are contractors who have equal capacity; financially and technically, they should be matched and allowed to compete among themselves. You cannot ask an upcoming contractor to compete with somebody who has been established for 20 years. You won’t get the best. But if you bring people of equal strength, they know that there is competition, and they will price reasonably and fairly. This is our guide. The other part is to ensure that funds are available, which is not within our purview. Our own is in compliance. If funding is available at the right time, we will promote the right pricing. In other climes, a contractor knows exactly when he will be paid. That helps his costing and planning. But when contractors are not sure when their payment is coming, they add the cost of delay into their pricing because no one wants to lose. If payment certainty is there, it will reduce the turnaround time for BPP. It will send a signal, even though prices cannot be determined by just saying it, but through a scientific approach and global practice. We have a mechanism to know when projects are over-inflated. However, today, if I give you a figure, even when you may not trust me, please give me the benefit of the doubt that I have done a thorough review for us to approve that figure and that we have done some diligence, a lot of work, to arrive at a fair price.
Bear in mind that BPP is making significant savings for the government and should get some credit. Just in one month, BPP made N37.08 billion in savings from a few procurements. We have the statistics, and you can imagine what we will do for the entire year. This is money that would have been taken away, unaccounted for, or buried somewhere. We hardly talk about what the BPP does. In the last few years, we have helped FIRS, PENCOM, ITF, NSITF, and so on, grow their revenue from our role. People don’t know this. For instance, we will not give you a contract if you have not duly paid your taxes and levies collected by the other agencies. You won’t get the contract if you don’t provide your tax clearance certificates. BPP ensures this happens, and people don’t know. You must have seen the revenues of all these agencies shooting up. This is because there is an institution that has enforced no payment of taxes, levies, and no contracts. If you don’t pay your social insurance taxes, and with evidence of certificate of payment, you cannot get a contract. If you have not paid ITF, you cannot get a contract; it is impossible. All the trillions of naira that have accrued to these agencies have been through the instrumentality of what BPP is enforcing. It is making money for these agencies and helping the government to provide services to Nigerians. Imagine what the government would have lost if the BPP did not insist that all contractors must first settle their taxes before they can come for clearance with their evidence.
Do you fear government interference could hinder effective implementation of your lofty reforms?
I have spent 21 years on this job, and I can tell you that in the one month that I’ve been the DG, nobody has interfered with my job. When I hear interference, I am wondering because nobody has called me to say, Do it this way. I see documents, and I objectively look at them and give my opinion. I am appealing to the public to always come for clarification; we will give you the facts. I don’t want to go back to what was said yesterday. I promise we will do a thorough job. Our certificate of no objection is something you can trust. We want the public to trust what comes out of here (BPP).
That is what we are building. It’s just like getting a certificate from a renowned university; you feel proud that you really suffered for it. You are proud to be associated with it. Same way, we want people to be proud of the approvals we give here. We want you to be proud of our thorough job.
How do you intend to curb corruption in government procurement?
First of all, agencies must advertise procurement opportunities and grant access to professionals, civil society, and the media to ask questions on issues on contract awards. They should provide statistics and let them interrogate it. That is accountability. If the contract processes are done in secrecy, trust will be eroded. We think there is a need to engage the media and allow stakeholders to ask questions. The other part is that when people do the wrong thing, are they queried? If public servants do the wrong thing, we should be able to query them. The other action plan is to engage EFCC, ICPC, and the Code of Conduct Bureau; the police; share information; and then ask them to do the needful. However, it is not going to happen in one day. I am saying this so that our expectations can be properly managed. It is going to take time to rebuild trust. The good thing is that we have started; this interview with BusinessDay is part of it. It shows that we are no longer hiding information from even the media. We will be publishing positions of contracts in government agencies on our website regularly. We will do media parleys from time to time and provide statistics. These are part of the strategy, apart from specific planned programmes that will lead us to where we are going. We are also introducing community-based procurement. By this, we will be engaging communities about projects located in their area. This will enable the chiefs and local leaders in such communities to monitor and give us information about the performance of those projects.
Does the BPP have capacity for all of these?
Yes, we are deploying technology, and we are going to partner with sister agencies—the equivalent of BPP in all the 36 states. We will also engage relevant bodies. We are going to expand our monitoring and evaluation. If we are able to get approval, we will employ monitoring observers and officers. We will bring onboard people who are passionate about this country. BPP staff will also be actively involved. When we go digital, I don’t need many people to sit down in the office. They will go to the field to get reports of what is on the ground. This way, the government can give me more tools with trust. But I have to first show seriousness, provide results, and then we expand.
How does BPP plan to restrict non-professionals from participating in procurement processes?
The truth is that you cannot stop anybody from participating in contract bidding. The key is for the person to have the requirements to participate. In terms of minimum criteria, you must be legally registered. You must have paid your taxes and social security. You just have the technical and professional competence to do the job. You are then free to participate in any procurement process if you meet all of this. We need professionals in the field, not portfolio-carrying contractors, and that is why we are doing this. If you are not good in local construction, we don’t need you there; if you are not an expert in the field of medicine and procurement of health equipment, you can’t participate in that area; if you are not good with building houses and suddenly you want to go in there, you will be disqualified. That is why we want to deploy technology. If you are not qualified, the system will not allow you to participate. No MDA will give a job to anyone without professional requirements.
What are the key features of your e-procurement system?
We started this e-procurement process a long time ago in 2020; COVID happened, and it was affected. We went through a process that we thought would deliver the kind of e-procurement system we wanted, but we ran into some legal issues. But we will launch a new one that Nigerians will be proud of; we are done working on it. E-procurement will not solve all the problems, but it will significantly reduce all the challenges and improve turnaround time. It will help grow the economy and attract foreign investments. It will help create jobs and reduce poverty. It will also help to address insecurity because you can be in Sokoto and Calabar and bid for a contract without flying or travelling to Abuja to see somebody. In the comfort of your home, you can bid and win. That is where we are heading to. It will also reduce the cost of transportation and cut the contract sum. That is the kind of thing e-procurement will help our country to achieve.
It will also promote good governance, accountability, and real-time results. Hopefully, it will be on the desk of Mr. President. The trick here is that the president will not need to call anybody for updates. When we deploy it, the president, vice president, or anybody who has a dashboard in their office can just click and get the information. They do not need to write; the system will give them daily feedback.
How are the MDAs complying with this?
Cultural change is part of what we are pushing. However, I am the regulatory board. The president said, Go and do the job. He gave me mandates, which I am running with. I will need to work with MDAs, but I don’t need to argue with anybody.
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