…Says Govt now theatre arena of contracts

By Emman Ovuakporie

ABUJA – Former Minister of Education and first Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, Dr Oby Ezekwesili Tuesday advised President Goodluck to stop presiding over meetings that involves the award of contracts.

She also urged members of the National Assembly to kick against the proposed amendment to the Public Procurement Act, 2007 to make the president, chairman of the National Council on Procurement ,NCP.

She advised President Goodluck Jonathan to steer clear from the proposed amendment saying it is against global best practices in procurement.

The former Minister, gave this advice at a 2-day interactive session organised by the House of Representatives committee on public procurement on the procurement processes with stakeholders saying that in other countries, presidents and ministers have no business awarding contracts to its citizens.

The former World Bank Vice President stressed that there is a plan to amend the Public Procurement Act, to make way for the president as chairman of the NCP , but  she advised Jonathan not to allow himself to be misled.

In her words,”I learnt that there is a move for an amendment of the legislation ,PP Act, in order to give the chairmanship of the Council to the president. Why would anybody do that? He should not allow anybody to do that to him”

Ezekwesili cautioned: “the man who is carrying the elephant cannot be using his feet to look for a cricket”.

She said “to make the president the chairman of the National Council on Procurement, “it’s totally not the most effective and most efficient thing to do in the arena of public policy. If you understand what I’m saying, understand it; if you don’t understand it, …”

She argued that it is not late for Nigeria to start moving in the direction of other prosperous nations saying “President Obama does not call cabinet meetings to discuss contracts. The prime minister of Singapore does not call cabinet meetings to discuss contracts.

“What business does a president or minister has sitting with a contractor in a meeting? That is not what your contemporaries do in other nations. Whereas the leaders of other nations spend their times thinking about vision, strategy and policy, the others spend their time haggling over contracts. It is time for the Council ,FEC, to let go spending it’s time on mundane things”