Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, said that strategic communication and effective information dissemination were critical tools in preventing corruption and promoting good governance.
Adedokun made this remark when he received in his office a delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), on a courtesy visit.
The visit by the NIPR delegation was to seek partnership with the Bureau on deployment of strategic communication in the effective implementation of the policies and reforms being driven by BPP to achieve the Bureau’s mandate of promoting national development through procurement.
The Director General said that BPP and NIPR would work together for the common good of the Nigerian people, even as he acknowledged the critical roles “NIPR plays in promoting robust public communication of government activities by certified public relations professionals in government.”
He said the Bureau was keen to establish good and mutually beneficial relationship with NIPR, “as the institute is professional and well structured.”
Adedokun proposed the setting up of a team to draft a working document as a guide in the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and requested a formal letter from the NIPR on the concerns that needed to be addressed.
In addition, the DG appealed to the NIPR to support the Public Relations Unit of the Bureau in terms of capacity building and training; collaborate in using NIPR instrument and outlets to educate Nigerians on key areas of procurement monitoring and evaluation.
He urged NIPR to avail BPP access to their platforms to share messages to the public on procurement, being the strategic tool for government to deliver goods and services, reduce wastages, reduce poverty, reduce insecurity, improve employment, revenue generation, good governance and economic development.
He said that under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, BPP had been given the opportunity to transform procurement landscape, pointing out that procurement was no longer transactional but transformative.
According to him, “BPP has introduced a revised threshold that allows speedy implementation of procurement in all MDAs.”
He explained that the Nigerian First policy, initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, was to promote small and medium scale enterprises, revenue generation, local content and industrialisation of the country by enabling Nigerian companies to partner with foreign investors.
Dr. Adedokun harped on professionalisation of the procurement sector, pointing out that procurement was universal and BPP had undergone a paradigm shift towards digitalization of the procurement sector through Government E-Procurement to reduce turn-around time, in addition to partnering anti-graft agencies and the 36 states and local governments to customise procurement guidelines.
The Representative of the NIPR President, who is the Vice President of the institute, Prof E. S. Dandaura, stated in his remarks that communication was the best panacea to curb corruption because, according to him, “corruption thrives in secrecy, misinformation and ignorance of the law.”
He said that NIPR was poised to support BPP reforms by applying strategic communication “which is the segmentation of audiences and dissemination of the required messages they need in line with sector-based specific procurement approaches.”
Dandaura stated that “NIPR is a regulator of Public Relations practice and strategic communication management in Nigeria, established in the year 1963 and chartered in 1990. NIPR ensures that organisations take their messages to the public.”
He insisted that it was mandatory that one must be a registered member of the institute to be allowed to practice in any organisation according to the institute’s establishment Act enacted by the National Assembly.”
He pointed out that Public Relation was now a cadre in the public service with the designation of “Information and Public Relations Officer” in the civil service.
Dandaura urged all public Relations Officers of the Bureau to avail themselves of NIPR training to get certified as public relations professionals.
Signed
Zira Zakka Nagga
Head of Public Relations (BPP)
10th July, 2025
