Dr Adedokun Adebowale, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has called on procurement officers to strictly follow established rules to strengthen public trust and drive national development. He made the appeal on Thursday while delivering a paper titled "Transforming Public Procurement Systems through Reforms and Innovations for Sustainable Development: A Strategic Playbook" at the third capacity-building event of the Association of Public Procurement Practitioners of Nigeria in Lagos. Adebowale stressed that procurement officers must lead by example, warning that non-compliance erodes systemic integrity. He described public procurement as the largest component of government spending and a critical lever for development outcomes.
Adebowale outlined seven pillars for a sustainable system: transparency, integrity, competition, efficiency, digital transformation, professional capacity, and accountability. He noted that N1.1 trillion had been saved in 11 months due to improved efficiency, stronger oversight, and price intelligence—surpassing the N2.2 trillion saved over the previous 20 years. He advocated for full adoption of e-procurement, contractor classification by competence, and 30 per cent affirmative procurement for women, youths, and persons with disabilities. Localisation policies to prioritise Nigerian-made goods and community-based procurement across 774 local governments were also proposed. Collaboration with anti-corruption agencies would enforce compliance.
Mr Fatai Onafowote, Director-General of Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, supported the call, highlighting Lagos's progress in e-procurement and environmental sustainability.
Adebowale's claim of saving N1.1 trillion in 11 months—more than double the two-decade total before it—demands scrutiny, not celebration. If accurate, it suggests past procurement was catastrophically wasteful; if exaggerated, it undermines the credibility of the reform narrative. Either way, Nigerian taxpayers have yet to see such savings translate into better roads, hospitals or power supply. The real test isn't in the figures quoted, but in whether procurement reform changes life for the average Nigerian.
