The appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the case for NCPP….By Anthony Akalugo    Newsdiaryonline Wed July 13,2011

The President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has since his inauguration as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, left no one in doubt, through his speeches, at different fora, interviews and comments on facebook, on his plans to assemble a competent team of experts to drive the economic resurgence agenda of the government. This plan was welcomed by many though still very many believed that it was the same form of veiled promises of the past leaders.

Many political jobbers continued to jostle for the various available posts citing their roles to deliver the president at the polls, as if they had any control of who the choice of the electorates could be. They suggest by such utterances that they would have altered such electoral mandate, if they had known that they would not have used it to bargain for any appointment in the government. It is worrisome that many politicians have so lost sense of touch with the reality that they believe that their exhibition of political gerrymandering and manipulations were enough knowledge to qualify them to occupy sensitive positions upon which the future of 150million Nigerians lie. Our politicians have hitherto redefined appointments to various responsibilities not as a call to sacrifice but to recoup their investment, from whose purse??? Tax payers have continuously been at the receiving end, God help us.

The president took his time to look inwards for people who understand the role of policy formulation and requisite skills to drive the policies. Among the recently screened ministerial nominees is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, MD World Bank. This is a woman who has been at the heart of economic management of various nations, knowing well that the survival of every nation depends to a large extent on the   ability of the leaders to formulate policies, adapt and domesticate conventions, define procedures, integrate best practices and develop institutions to protect and implement the policies and procedures to engender frugality in all facets of the economy.

It will serve us better if we can recall that it was during her first shot at the ministerial portfolio that Due process was introduced in Nigeria. We shall recall also that it was not as if the then government was so passionate about seeing things done right that they canvassed for due process, for which Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, was branded madam due process, in some quarters. It was rather because the World Bank, of which Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; was a product of the institution, understands that we must put structures in place for cost management and right process compliance. World Bank made it clear to the Nigerian government that they would rather recommend the implementation of the due process in public procurement, to ensure transparency and value for money in the public conducts of procurement.  To obtain the World Bank assistance Nigeria needed so much, the government institutionalized due process, sent a bill to the National Assembly, which eventually became the Public Procurement Act 2007. The journey so far has been daunting but the progress recorded so far is palpable.

However, since the exit of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili from the Federal Executive Council, the drive to build virile and strong institutions to sustain the drive was viciously attacked by the politicians whose stock in trade is to cripple all avenues designed to entrench fiscal discipline in the polity. The Public Procurement Bill was signed into law in 2007 but there has not been any single development recorded thereafter.

We need to realize that fight against corruption and fraudulent practices in Nigeria, using EFCC and ICPC; are only institutions to complement the provisions of the Public Procurement Act. The fraudulent conducts of institutions or individuals are usually traced to failure or circumvention of some or all of the provisions of the Act. Though a few are totally exempted from the stipulations of the Act but the fundamental concept of introducing policies and procedures is to achieve value for money and fitness for purpose.

Since the assent of the Act in 2007, it is unfortunate that the government has not constituted the National Council on Public Procurement, NCPP. This council incidentally is the first provision of section 1 of the Act. The Act states that ‘There is established the National Council on Public Procurement (in this Act referred to as “the Council”’ the council, by the provisions of the Act is the governing council of the procurement institution in Nigeria. It is after the constitution of the council, which is to be chaired, by the Minister for Finance, that the other institutions can come to be. It is important to note that there is no existence of the Bureau of Public Procurement without the Council. It is the Council that will select those who will work in the Bureau. It is the Council that will approve the Modus Operandi of the Bureau. It is the council that will vet the Budget of the Bureau and forward to the National Assembly for appropriation. Remove the Council from the Public Procurement Institution, it becomes business as usual. Incidentally all who have been at the saddle since 2007 have ignored this important provision and carried on as usual thereby further creating avenues for uncontrollable looting and manipulation. If the Bureau is the administrative head of due process in Nigeria, then why is it that the occupants have not been chosen in line with the Public Procurement Act that provides the modalities for selection? It is not possible for someone to meddle into a system and to demonstrate holistic and thorough competence without first possessing the requisite trainings and qualifications. Today public procurement practice in Nigeria is still at a very low cost effective level because of inconsistencies in the system. The MDAs are far off the mark of implementation because there is a yawning void in the procurement institution.

It is important to note that going by the provisions of the Act, there is no policy, procedure, guideline and instruction of the Bureau presently, that can serve as a reference guide, even in the court of law, to convict any public figure of non-compliance, to the Public Procurement Act 2007. This is a bitter truth that must be told. It is simply because all the policies, guides, thresholds, procedures, etc, produced by the Bureau must statutorily receive the approval of the council before their implementation. WHERE IS THE COUNCIL???

To every well meaning professional in Nigeria, it is cheery news that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has returned to pilot the affairs of the Ministry once again. We are also hopeful that she will leave the legacy of implementing policies and developing institutions to drive the economy in the right direction. She knows exactly that the major difference between the economies of the First and the third world is value for money and utilization of production factors.

It will not be too early to ask that the National Council on Public Procurement should be constituted within her first week of resumption of office. This will bridge the gap already created in the Bureau of Public Procurement, by the expiration of the tenure of the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, Engr. Emeka Eze. We do not need to continue in the cycle of exercising arbitrary powers, to appoint people into positions, when we have enabling laws in that regard. The rule of law demands compliance to existing laws, holistically, not selective.

Our clarion call is a call to get it right at once. The constitution of the National Council On Public Procurement and the immediate selection of the DG of the Bureau and other principal officers of the Bureau, according to the provisions of the Act, are steps to set the present administration on the right course.

Anthony Akalugo, is a Procurement and Supply Chain Consultant, the General Manager, Consulting Services, Daca Consults Limited, Lagos.  E-mail: consultantprocurersng@yahoo.com

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