The Executive Secretary, Ebonyi State Council on Public Procurement, Mrs Uzoma Betty-Ify, has on Thursday said Governor David Umahi does not interfere with procurement jobs and processes in the state.
She stated this during a two-day Quarterly Stakeholder Public Procurement Dialogue, tagged, “Public Procurement in Ebonyi State – Efforts, Processes, Issues and Challenges,†in Abakaliki, adding that the procurement processes in the state ran independently of government meddlesomeness in order to ensure accountability, transparency and effectiveness of contract processes as stipulated by the council.
The dialogue, which was organised by USAID State2State, was aimed at curbing fraud and corruption in the public procurement process.
Betty-Iffy said, “The key challenge facing my office is the issue of network, which sometimes hinders bidders and the general public from being on the same page with the Bureau during bid opening.
“We don’t really have much challenges, but the only one as I mentioned earlier is network problem. You know we are conducting procurement, using electronic in communication. At times, during the bid opening, we have network challenge. You know we always fix time to enable everybody to join.
“Concerning this procurement process, you don’t even need to know anybody. Governor Umahi does not have anything to do with the procurement jobs, because if you tamper with anything or anyone in the program, the whole world will see it. That’s why procurement is better than normal procurement of assets.â€
Speaking with journalists on the sideline of the Dialogue, the Chairman, Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria, Ebonyi State and Assistant Zonal Chairman of the Institute, Mrs Chima Okikechi, called on the Bureau to embark on aggressive sensitisation of its activities, to assiduously keep the public abreast of its activities.
“They should embark on aggressive sensitisation, not only by going to the radio, but also by moving to churches, markets, and everywhere people can be found.
“And according to the Executive Secretary, they have basically five challenges which border on network, utility vehicles, cadre building in the public service, and the contractors not being able to use the e-platform, among others,†she said.