News Investigators/ Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and Lagos Business School (LBS) have begun talks on a strategic partnership to strengthen public procurement through capacity building, research and digital transformation.
This is contained in a statement issued by Zira Nagga, BPP’s Head of Media and Public Relations, on Saturday in Abuja.
Mr Nagga said the talks began during a courtesy visit by the LBS delegation to the BPP headquarters in Abuja.
The bureau’s Director-General, Adebowale Adedokun, described the engagement as “timely and long overdue”.
Mr Adedokun, represented by the Director of Civil Infrastructure Department, BPP, Nasir Bello, said that the collaboration between both institutions would support the bureau’s mandate beyond procurement regulation.
“No institution can work alone. It is time to build a collaborative understanding between the two institutions,” he said.
Mr Adedokun said the BPP had signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with no fewer than 20 professional bodies and was looking forward to adding LBS to the list.
The director-general welcomed the proposals made by the LBS delegation and reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to partnerships that would improve public service delivery and governance.
He said that the collaboration would be formalised through an MOU, while both parties agreed to constitute a joint committee to draft the agreement and develop an implementation roadmap.
Olayinka David-West, Dean of LBS, said the visit was to explore areas of collaboration that would support public sector transformation and contribute to the Federal Government’s vision of building a one trillion-dollar economy.
Prof. David-West, who is also a Professor of Information Systems, identified executive education, competency development, organisational transformation and the responsible application of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, in public procurement as potential areas of partnership.
She also said that many of the bureau’s reforms remained undocumented and proposed the development of case studies to serve as learning resources for policymakers and future public sector leaders.
Also speaking, Victor Banjo, Director of Executive Education at LBS, commended the bureau’s efforts in promoting efficiency, transparency and accountability in public procurement.
Mr Banjo proposed the establishment of a joint working group to identify priority areas for collaboration and develop practical learning materials.
He said other areas of collaboration identified include institutional strengthening, research and documentation, digital transformation, ethical procurement and the possible establishment of a Centre for Public Procurement Studies to promote best practices across Africa.
According to the statement, the meeting also highlighted the bureau’s ongoing digital transformation initiatives, including its World Bank-supported Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) platform.
It said both organisations agreed that technology-driven reforms must be complemented by effective change management, leadership development and institutional readiness to ensure sustainable outcomes.
Both institutions expressed optimism that the partnership would strengthen Nigeria’s procurement system, improve governance and help develop a new generation of ethical and competent public sector leaders.
NAN