, Mr Dasuki Arabi, has stressed the importance of succession planning, mentorship, reskilling, and upskilling in the public service.){kind=link}
By Philomina Attah
The Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Mr Dasuki Arabi, has stressed the importance of succession planning, mentorship, reskilling, and upskilling in the public service.
Arabi said the elements are crucial for enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, and value for money in public procurement.
He made the position known at the monthly lunch-time reform seminar organised by BPSR in Abuja on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event is themed, “Public Procurement Reform: Enhancing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Value for money in the 21st century challenges and way forward”.
Arabi noted that succession planning and mentorship are parts of the revised public service rules and must be implemented.
He also highlighted the need for reskilling and upskilling of public servants to drive government projects and programmes effectively.
The BPSR DG further emphasised the importance of inclusion in procurement processes, allowing citizens to participate and monitor projects.
He called for collaboration among stakeholders and advocated for the use of technology with caution and ethics.
He expressed concern about the potential risks, associated with artificial intelligence and block-chain technology, urging the need for a national policy to safeguard Nigeria’s interests.
In an interview with newsmen, Arabi explained that the agency’s mandate includes enlightening citizens on government activities.
In achieving the mandate, Arabi said the BPSR initiated a project where heads of agencies present their scorecards, providing citizens with the opportunity to ask questions and seek explanations on successes and failures.
The Director General,.Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr Adebowale Adedokun, emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in public procurement to ensure end-user satisfaction and value for money.
Adedokun, the guest speaker at the event, noted that procurement should no longer be seen as just a transaction, but as a value-added service that impacts the lives of citizens.
According to him, a successful procurement process should result in citizens benefiting directly from infrastructure projects, such as roads, schools, and hospitals.
He added that procurement officers should be protected when doing the right thing while accounting officers should be held accountable for their actions.
The BPP D-G also highlighted efforts to improve the capacity of procurement officers, including online training programmes.
He noted that, about 500 public service officers had recently completed an online training programme and would soon have their results published.
Adedokun said the BPP is working to promote community-based procurement, which involves lowering criteria to allow small and medium-scale enterprises, including women-owned businesses and youth entrepreneurs, to bid for projects.. (NAN)