UBE counterpart fund: FG harps on transparency, accountability in procurement processes

The Federal Government on Monday urged the chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) to ensure value for money in the utilisation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) counterpart fund by ensuring transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the procurement processes within the Basic Education system.

The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr Hamid Bobboyi, made the call in Abuja while declaring open a 5-day training workshop on the 2007 Procurement Act for chairmen of state universal basic education boards and procurement officers from SUBEBs across the 36 states of the Federation and FCT.

He noted that the 2007 Procurement Act is a cornerstone of public procurement in Nigeria, adding that it provides a comprehensive framework for conducting public procurement, ensuring fairness, equity, and value for money in all public transactions.

The training programme being conducted in collaboration with the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) was designed to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively navigate the complexities of the 2007 Procurement Act.

Bobboyi highlighted key areas of the training, such as ethical procurement, the need to understand the importance of integrity and transparency in public procurement, ensuring value for money, adhering strictly to the legal and regulatory framework, risk management, procurement planning and strategy, as well as supplier selection and contract management, among others.

He said: “Procurement is the backbone of any organisation, and in the realm of education, it plays a pivotal role in ensuring that our schools have the necessary resources to deliver quality education. The decisions we make in procurement directly impact the learning environment of our learners.

“By adhering to the principles and provisions of the 2007 Procurement Act, we can significantly improve the quality of education delivery and optimise the utilisation of public funds,” he said.

Chief Procurement Officer, Bureau of Public Procurement, Engr. Otunla Abiodun, who represented the Director-General of BPP, said the whole essence of the 2007 Procurement Act was to eliminate corruption from the system such that government business is conducted in a transparent and competitive manner.

While highlighting the importance of the training, Abiodun said: “We want all agencies, especially UBEC and the SUBUBs, to comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

“As we know, the basis of this procurement act is to ensure transparency and competitiveness in the procurement process and to ensure that bids or contractors are selected through open competitive bidding,” he stated.

He clarified that by virtue of the provisions of the 2007 Procurement Act as stipulated in Section 15 of it, state governments are to abide by the law since they derive funding from the Federal Government, in this case, UBEC, over 35 per cent.

“On the scope of application of the Procurement Act, the law says that any agency, ministry, department, or agency that derives its revenues from the federal government. The second one is that any agency that derives at least 35% of the funding from the federal government must abide by the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

“So as long as the state governments derive 50% of their funds from the federal government, they must abide by the provisions of the Public Procurement Act,” he stated.

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