Nigeria’s Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (LSPPA) has completed a move to an e-procurement platform in a bid to transform the way it works and make the procurement process simpler and smarter.
Announcing the news, earlier this month, Fatai Idowu Onafowote, general manager of the LSPPA, said the new platform will enhance “probity, accountability, transparency, competitiveness, value-for-money and fairness” in public procurement as well as “fairness in the execution of Government projects and programmes.”
The agency has completed arrangements and processes to aid the migration to the e–procurement platform, he said.
Onafowote urged stakeholders to make use of a vendor registration portal, which is part of the new platform and is aimed at “improving service delivery.”
The LSPPA, which was established in 2012, has more than 400 staff and aims to be a “model regulator assuring best practices in public procurement,” according to its website.
The introduction of the e-procurement platform will “further deepen the implementation, workability and effectiveness of procurement process,” according to Onafowote.
It aims to improve “the ease of doing business and make it easier for all stakeholders in the procurement cycle to conduct business engagements and transactions with Lagos State Government from the comfort of their respective offices and homes,” he added.
By implementing the platform, the agency is moving towards “excellent and efficient service delivery to all stakeholders in line with international best practices and the state government vision of a smart city.”
The agency is tasked with formulating policies and guidelines for including procurement in Lagos for the State Government, local governments and councils and public bodies.
In October 2018, Nigeria’s Office for Public Procurement director general, Mamman Ahmado attended the Global Public Procurement Conference in the US which saw 13 African nations, including Nigeria, commit to using e-procurement platforms to streamline public procurement.
The countries pledged to promote the development of innovative policies, usage of open data and action plans to encourage the implementation of technology in public procurement.