The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr Samuel Ogbuku, says that the Commission’s processes will be fully automated by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Ogbuku announced this during the Mandatory Continuous Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme, organised by the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, at the PTDF Centre for Skills Development in Port Harcourt.

He stated: “We will soon automate our procurement processes to ensure compliance, transparency, and better service delivery. We have recently reformed our corporate governance structure and internal processes.”

According to the Managing Director, the NDDC had commenced implementation of a new Governance Advisory Service to ensure accountability and transparency in service delivery.

Ogbuku observed: “Holding this training in the Niger Delta demonstrates that there is peace in the region, which translates to peace in Nigeria. We have transitioned from transaction to transformation, and this is evident in our public procurement processes.”

“In NDDC, we take public procurement very seriously. Last year, we collaborated with BPP in training some of our staff. Training and retraining are essential in every organisation. We are also training our staff in ICT to enhance their digital knowledge.

He noted that the NDDC had 35 BPP-certified Procurement professionals in the Commission's Procurement unit. We try in various ways to train our staff on procurement processes.

Highlighting some of the achievements of the NDDC, Ogbuku stated that the Operation Light Up the Niger Delta, one of the Commission's flagship programmes, had been very successful. We undertake projects based on needs assessment. “Mr President loves the Niger Delta, and we are doing our best to bring his programmes home to the people,” he said.

In his welcome address, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering commitment to strengthening procurement reforms and fortifying transparency, which helped the BPP to elevate professionalism and position procurement as the strategic engine of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said that the Capacity-Building programme demonstrated the Bureau’s sustained commitment to institutionalise trained, certified and accountable procurement professionals; a programme designed to strengthen competence, ethical standards and professionalism within the Nigerian Procurement System.

Adebowale said: “The training is in line with the requirements of the procurement act. PPP, as a regulatory body. This programme is meant to enhance your capacity. Procurement is a distinct cadre that provides the background for project delivery.”

He urged all participants to engage fully in the programme to sharpen their expertise and reaffirm ethical resolves as Nigeria needs competent and courageous procurement officers to uphold due process at all times, and wished all participants a productive and transformative training programme.

In his keynote address entitled: “The role of Procurement Officers in the Delivery of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the Chairman of FCT Civil Service Commission, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, noted that procurement was a tool for good governance, as well as a mechanism to fight corruption.

He emphasised: “You must internalise the eight priority areas of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu’s administration.”

•PHOTO: NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku (middle) exchanges pleasantries with the Director General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Dr Adebowale Adedekun (le%) at the Mandatory Con'nuous Public Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme. On the right is the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Engr. Emeka Ezeh

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