By MajiriOghene Bob Etemiku
Abuja, Nigeria – The Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC) has called on the Nigerian government and the Bureau of Public Procurement to intensify effort towards launching Open Contracting Portal (OCP), to deepen fiscal transparency in the procurement process in the country.
The Nigerian Government in June 2016 signed up to the open government partnership (OGP), thereby committing to implement the open contracting process as part of a National Action Plan to promote access to information, enhance fiscal transparency, accountability and citizen engagement in public procurement.
Both groups say that implementation of the long-awaited open contracting portal will help to improve public service integrity and ensure that a greater amount of public resources are managed more effectively.
“Beyond the commitment however, it is now time for government to purposefully work towards its implementation. The 2017 budget will soon be passed and procurement activities are expected to follow, there is no better time to link budget and procurement data to public services, thereby encouraging participation, disclosure and entrenching public accountability,” Tijani Abdulkareem, Lead Director, SERDEC said during the week.
SERDEC also commended the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the considerable work done in developing the open contracting portal and urged it to ensure full implementation of the principles of Open Contracting Data Standard.
This, the organization said it can do by ensuring that the portal provides adequate information on procurement, disclosures, procurement data across the entire procurement cycle and provide feedback that ensures that public contracts are delivered with value for money achieved.
“We hereby recommend that the Bureau begin the training for MDAs on the proper application of the portal and engage the citizens at the state and local government level on how to access procurement information from the portal. This will go a long way in enhancing accountability and guarantee the prudent use of public resources”, Mr. Abdulkareem Tijani averred.
SERCED is an NGO working on procurement in Nigeria; SERDEC operates to promote public finance accountability, socio-economic development and strengthening citizen’s engagement with government.
