The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, FCIPS, has reaffirmed the Bureau’s commitment to strengthening its strategic partnership with Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, to professionalise and transform public procurement in Nigeria.
He gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja, when he received the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Professor Adamu Ahmed, who led a delegation comprising representatives of the World Bank-supported Sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) Centre of Excellence and the University’s Public Procurement Research Centre (PPRC), to the Bureau’s headquarters, on a courtesy visit.
Welcoming the delegation, Adedokun described the relationship between BPP and ABU as cordial, technical and institutional, built on mutual respect, discipline and a shared commitment to excellence. He said the Bureau’s regulatory interventions were intended to strengthen institutional standards rather than strain relationships.
He stressed that regulatory actions should not be misconstrued as adversarial but viewed as part of the Bureau’s responsibility to uphold standards and promote excellence. He also commended ABU for its continued role in advancing procurement education and professional development.
The BPP Chief said that the proposed areas of collaboration aligned with the Bureau’s reform priorities, particularly Food Security Procurement, Affirmative Procurement, and Community-Based Procurement, noting that implementing these reforms would require strong academic support in research, curriculum development, and capacity building.
He equally expressed optimism that ABU, through the PPRC and SPESSE Centres, would play a leading role in this regard.
Dr. Adedokun reiterated the Bureau’s commitment to ensuring that the Centres hosted by the University attained and sustained the status of true Centres of Excellence, serving as models for procurement training, research and professional capacity development.
According to him, Food Security Procurement seeks to deploy public procurement as a strategic instrument for strengthening food production, aggregation and distribution.
He appreciated the Vice-Chancellor for the initiative and reaffirmed the Bureau’s readiness to give the proposal expeditious consideration, adding that “We will gladly receive your proposal and set up a small joint team with your team to review it. We will examine the issues and convene another meeting where we will agree on what we are committed to delivering in the next one year and in the next two years.”
Earlier, Professor Ahmed, Vice Chancellor, ABU, described the visit as more than a courtesy call, saying it provided an opportunity to reaffirm ABU’s longstanding relationship with the Bureau and explore avenues for deeper institutional collaboration.
He acknowledged BPP’s leadership in advancing procurement reforms, particularly in professionalisation, institutional capacity development, electronic Government Procurement (e-GP), transparency, efficiency and accountability, recalling that since the establishment of the PPRC in 2016 through collaboration between BPP and ABU, the Bureau had remained an invaluable partner. He also acknowledged BPP’s contributions to curriculum development and Train-the-Trainer programmes for the SPESSE and PPRC Centres.
Ahmed disclosed that the PPRC had trained over 4,300 procurement practitioners through more than 35 programmes, while the SPESSE Centre had trained 3,303 professionals during its first phase and an additional 1,200 personnel since the commencement of its second phase.
He noted that ABU’s hosting of both Centres reflected its commitment to supporting Nigeria’s public procurement reform agenda.
The Vice-Chancellor presented a proposal for a sustainable framework to strengthen the partnership beyond individual leadership tenures. The proposal includes an Executive Education Programme in Public Procurement, integration of the PPRC into the SPESSE sustainability framework, expanded regional training, support for procurement reforms and e-Government Procurement, commissioned research, professional certification and improved training infrastructure.
The meeting ended with the formal presentation of the proposal document, with both institutions expressing optimism that the strengthened partnership would contribute significantly to procurement professionalisation, institutional development and the delivery of greater value to the nation.
Ijeoma Chijioke-Adindu
Head (Information and Public Relations)
