……..DG Insists Exam is to Instil Ethics, Discipline; Says Officers Who Fail After Three Attempts Will Be Redeployed.
The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has successfully concluded the Batch A of its 2026 Mandatory Continuous Public Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme (MCPPCDTP) for Public Procurement Officers drawn from Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and some State Governments.
The three-week intensive programme, which ended with a mandatory examination on Saturday at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Skills Development Training Centre, Igwuruta, Port Harcourt, had over 300 participants.
Speaking shortly after supervising the examination, the Director-General/CEO of BPP, Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, FCIPS, said the examination is standard practice to test whether participants understood what was taught and to ensure they possess the basic rudiments of public procurement.
According to the DG, those who pass will be certified as procurement officers, while those who fail will be given two more opportunities, making three attempts in total.
“This training is to create a culture of prevention of abuse of government resources. We are training them to be ethically minded, to be organized, to have soft skills, leadership skills, IT skills, and stakeholder management skills,” Dr. Adedokun stated.
He explained that the programme is designed to catch officers young and instil in them a Nigeria-first mindset, teamwork, and an understanding that their decisions directly affect how roads, hospitals and schools are constructed for future generations.
The DG emphasized that procurement officers are the technical hands who must be able to advise their bosses on what is right or wrong and have the ethical courage to say no to wrongdoing and refuse to misuse their office for personal gain.
On sanctions for failure, Dr. Adedokun reiterated that “If any of them fails after three attempts, we would recommend that they be redeployed to another unit, but not procurement anymore. This exam is a yardstick to determine whether you can continue at all in procurement. Once we establish that you don’t understand the basics, there is no point forcing you to continue in a profession you don’t understand.”
He further disclosed that going forward, and in line with the directive of Mr. President, no officer will be allowed to practice procurement in the public service without first passing through the programme.
Dr. Adedokun revealed that BPP is institutionalizing procurement as a career path, similar to Engineering, Accountancy and Law. He noted that with universities now offering first degrees in Sustainable Procurement, the Bureau will in the next three years have its first set of graduates who studied procurement academically and will be professionally trained for public service.
To deepen the culture from the grassroots, the Bureau is also encouraging formulation of Procurement Clubs in tertiary institutions across the country, where students can acquire knowledge and begin to monitor government projects within their campuses.
He added that as part of efforts to ensure global competitiveness and ethical conduct, all participants signed a Code of Conduct undertaking not to commit fraud, examination malpractice, and to comply with procurement principles. The signed forms will be filed in their personnel files at the Bureau.
The next Batch of the training programme is expected to resume in two weeks.
Signed:
Ngozi C. Anyaelezu
Ag.Head, Public Relations
BPP
October 24, 2026.
