The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) have canvassed a robust partnership for career professionalism to bridge the gaps in public procurement to drive ongoing reforms.
The Director-General of BPP, Dr. Adebowale A. Adedokun, FCIPS, FCILT, ACFE emphasised the need for better procurement systems delivery and the importance of professionals working together to achieve common goals.
He noted that the procurement and accounting professions shared the same objectives.
Dr. Adedokun made this known while receiving the President and Chairman of Council, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mallam Haruna Nma Yahaya, mni, PhD, FCA, and his team at the Bureau of Public Procurement office in Abuja.
In his welcome address, the Director-General, BPP noted that the Procurement and Accounting profession were the same but operated differently focusing on achieving the same goals of trust, accountability, disclosure of public funds with the aim of working together to transform the country.
He stated that as of 2025, the Bureau had saved the federal government about N350b, even as he underscored the importance of the partnership of accounting and procurement profession.
The ICAN President, Mallam Haruna, acknowledged the exceptional leadership of Dr. Adedokun.
He stated that his visionary stewardship had driven significant procurement reforms, including the rollout of the National Procurement Certification Portal (NPCP), debarment process, capacity building, Revised Monetary Thresholds recently approved by the Federal Government, strengthening of the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO), among many other reforms, had enhanced transparency and accountability in public procurement resulting in cost savings of over ₦173 billion
He said thus aligned with ICAN’s advocacy for digitalisation, consequence management, and citizen-facing transparency.
He said that over six decades, ICAN had produced highly skilled chartered accountants who had become the backbone of Nigeria’s accountability architecture in MDAs, states, local governments, and the private sector where “ICAN-trained professionals keep the books clean and ensure that processes remain ethical, auditable, and defensible hence propose deeper institutional collaboration with the Bureau.”
He identified key areas of partnership as:
i. Forensic Audit & Data Analytics Support: Leveraging ICAN’s faculty and technical expertise to strengthen procurement monitoring, detect anomalies early, and support internal-control systems;
ii. Capacity Building for BPP Officials: Training programmes that integrate procurement compliance, IPSAS financial reporting, sustainability reporting standards (IFRS S1/S2), and digital assurance – so that Nigeria keeps pace with global reforms;
iii. Sponsorship & Professional Up-skilling: Encouraging the Bureau to nominate staff for ICAN programmes, CPD sessions, certification pathways, and our Annual Accountants’ Conference – where procurement and PFM reforms remain central themes;
iv. Joint Research & Policy Collaboration: Especially in line with the ‘Reform Crossroads’ agenda and the ICAN Communiqué, focusing on: consequence management, digital public finance systems, ethics-by-design, and asset-backed fiscal sustainability.
The President also requested the BPP Director General to be a guest speaker to educate ICAN’s members on their Thursday broadcast ‘ICAN on air’, an avenue to reach out to a vast number of ICAN members to bridge the knowledge gaps in current procurement realities.
Dr. Adedokun reiterated the need for accountants with procurement expertise as, according to him, procurement was a multi-disciplinary profession designed to play strategic roles in various professions.
He stressed the need for ICAN to set up a unit designed to produce professional accountants with procurement knowledge as it was in other professions like Law, for example.
He stated that having accountants with procurement expertise could help Nigeria save money and ensure value for its resources.
He said: “They can monitor contracts and prices, preventing overcharging and wastage. This can make a big difference in our country’s financial management.”
He urged ICAN to collaborate with BPP to push for procurement reforms to promote transparency, accountability, and aligning with global best practices.
“The Bureau is ready to formalise the partnership with ICAN through MoU and establish a working team to implement the collaboration”. Dr. Adedokun said.
e-Signed
Zira Zakka Nagga
Head of Press and Public Relations (BPP)
November 24, 2025
