25th May, 2015
The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Emeka Ezeh, has warned newly recruited procurement officers to follow due process in the award of contracts or risk going to jail.
Ezeh gave the warning on Sunday in Abuja when he led the 130 procurements officers’ in-training on a tour of Kuje Medium Security Prisons.
Represented Mr James Akanmu, Director, Research and Training, Ezeh said that being a procurement officer was a sensitive position.
He, therefore, urged the officers to refrain from corrupt practices and any act that could tarnish their reputation.
The BPP boss informed the officers of the provisions of sub-section 5 of Section 38 of the Public Procurement Act.
According to him, the act states that “any government official upon conviction of contravention of the Public Procurement Act will be sentenced to not less than five calendar years”.
“And when you are sentenced, where will you be? You will be in prison.
“So we are here (prison) so that you can have a feel of what it will be like if you get it wrong.
“Hopefully, this visit will be remembrance of how your live will be like if you do not do the right thing,” he said.
In his remark, Deputy Comptroller of Prisons, Mr Musa Tanko, stressed the importance of doing the right thing.
He urged the procurement officers to follow the rules of the society, saying many important people in the society were in the prison.
“Whatever you are, whoever you think you are, there is someone like you in this prison.
“We have lawyers, lecturers, doctors, millionaires, amongst others.
“Please anything that you will do that will make you come here, please don’t do it.
“At work, be careful of whatever document you put your signature on; also, don’t follow short-cut to make money. That’s where trouble starts,” he warned.
During the tour, Tanko said that there were 160 convicted inmates in the facility while 600 others were awaiting trial.
“In Kuje medium security prison, we have all kinds of inmates; we have the convicted and the non-convicts. Among the convicted, we have all sorts of classes.
“We have the condemned criminals that is, those that are on death roll.
“Also in this prison, we have the lifers. They are senior inmates that are to remain here until natural death.
“We also have others serving all kinds of sentences from 30 years to one month. Their crimes ranged from armed robbery to rape,” he said.
NAN reports that the Prison Warden took the officers to different facilities in the in the prison.
The facilities included the National Open University of Nigeria and WAEC study centres, soap factory, tailoring workshop and basket ball court.
Miss Iyadunni Dada, one of the newly recruited procurement officers, said the visit had made her fully committed to her role as a procurement officer.
“I will definitely do my job. I don’t want to go to prison. I will follow due process according to the BPP act.
“No shady deals, no awarding of contracts to my friends. I will do what I am supposed to do,” she said.