Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said the transparent, open and technology-based public procurement system being operated in the State has helped the government significantly save monies which is deployed to pursue more developmental projects across the State, ensuring improved livelihoods for the people.
Obaseki said this when he received members of the Public Procurement and Concession Commission (PPCC) of Liberia led by the Executive Director, Bodger Scott Johnson, who were on a courtesy visit at the Government House, Benin City.
The team is on an exchange programme visit to Edo to understudy the State’s e-procurement system which has continued to earn global acclaim.
The governor said, “Procurement is at the core of our development. If we fail to procure properly and spend much more than we should on the procurement of goods and services, our development process will be stunted. It’s important to us as a people who do not have financial resources to put in place systems and processes to get the most value for the money we are spending on behalf of our people. This is the core of our strategy and motivation to procure properly.
“We started our process over 15 years ago when we obtained our first budget facilities and had to revamp our procurement system as a State. It has been a case of gradual growth ever since.
“We have learnt some lessons along the way and will be able to share some of the lessons with you so that you will be able to avoid such pitfalls or challenges that we have to deal with.”
He continued: “We want to let you know that, politically, it’s difficult but for the technical people on ground, you will want to do things right. There will be political pressure which is one of the biggest challenges you will have to face but if you have the political support, then you are likely to be able to hold your ground.
“Technology will help you progress on e-procurement systems as it makes it easier in our view and better to have a properly structured and designed procurement process that is transparent to you and everybody else.”
Obaseki added, “Procurement helps build trust as we don’t take procurement for granted in Edo State.”
Earlier, Bodger Scott Johnson said, “We have come to learn how the e-procurement processes work as we are planning to launch our e-procurement system. We are learning from the Edo State e-procurement team and taking great knowledge back home to impact our own e-procurement process.
“We commend the friendship between Liberia and Nigeria as your Country played a very vital role in restoring peace in Liberia. We are grateful to Nigeria as our big brother and giant of Africa. We are happy because we are in safe hands in Nigeria.”
He noted, “We are here to take back the knowledge learnt here and make our procurement better and less of human contact, making it transparent to ensure credibility.”
