22nd August, 2019
The Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, has called on Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs of the State Government to fully comply with the provisions of the Procurement Law and give the State’s Public Procurement Agency the necessary support to facilitate the discharge of the Agency’s statutory duties in all matters relating to procurement.
The Head of Service, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Public Service Office, Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Samson Olusegun Ajibade, stated this at the opening ceremony of a three-day Procurement Planning Clinic organised by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA), held at the Public Service Staff Development Centre (PPDC), Magodo, Lagos.
Muri-Okunola also charged officials of the State Government saddled with the responsibility of managing Government resources to imbibe the spirit of change and learn the rudiments of the Procurement Law so that the resources available to Government could be efficiently applied to meet the needs of the generality of the people of the State.
The Head of Service also appealed to all MDAs in the State to develop creative ideas that would lead to increase in revenue for the State Government to enable the government provide more goods and services for the citizenry.
Muri-Okunola commended the General Manager of and the management team of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency for the giant strides the Agency had recorded within the short period of its existence, noting that the Agency had made remarkable achievements in entrenching the culture of transparency and due process in the procurement process of MDAs of the State.
He stated further that he was impressed with the introduction of the e-registration/renewal of contractors to ease the process.
Also speaking, the General Manager, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA), Mr. Fatai Idowu Onafowote, explained that the Procurement Planning Clinic was organised to examine the Procurement Plan of each Ministry, Department and Agency of the State with a view to ensuring that the plans developed by the MDAs were in alignment with the approved Year 2019 Appropriation Law of the various MDAs.
Onafowote added that the clinic would have been held earlier in the year, but for the general elections and the consequent assumption of office of the new administration in the State, noting that it was imperative that the clinic was held annually as it provides the platform for the Agency to have a clear insight into the roadmap for the implementation of the Budget in terms of delivery of goods, works and services for the teeming residents in line with the vision of the State Government.
The General Manager disclosed that following the successful implementation of the e-Vendor Registration module by the Agency, plans for the implementation of other modules: e- Tendering, e-Publishing/Notification, e-Bidding and e-Award Notice were also at an advanced stage.
He added that the Agency had scheduled 1st September, 2019 as the date for the modules of the e-Procurement Solution to “Go Live” in the State, pointing out that the modules would be implemented in three pilot Ministries: Health, Education and Works and Infrastructure while the implementation would be extended to other MDAs in the first quarter of next year.
Onafowote stated that the Agency had continued to sensitize stakeholders in the procurement process on the need for full compliance with the State’s Procurement Law so that there would be value for money expended by Government on the provision of goods, works and services, thereby ensuring that Lagosians enjoy more dividends of democracy.
The General Manager acknowledged the support and encouragement the Agency had been receiving from the Governor of the State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which he said had been giving the Agency the impetus to forge ahead in its efforts in entrenching due diligence in the public service, thereby ensuring transparency in public expenditure in the State.
Members of the Body of Permanent Secretaries, other senior Government officials and Procurement Officers in the State as well as representatives of the Ekiti State Bureau of Procurement attended the ceremony.