The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Adebowale Adedokun, has said Nigeria lacks lawyers with vast experience in procurement.
Mr Adedokun, whose agency oversees procurement in federal institutions, acknowledged the critical role of lawyers in safeguarding public expenditure and advancing procurement reforms.
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But he said shortage of lawyers with specialised knowledge of public procurement often resulted in gaps in contract administration, dispute resolution, policy drafting, and the prosecution of procurement-related offences.
“Nigeria lacks lawyers who are vast and experienced in procurement; hence, we must develop lawyers who understand procurement,” Mr Adedokun said on Wednesday during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the BPP and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the BPP headquarters.
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He advocated for capacity building in procurement for lawyers to improve service delivery.
“By building this capacity within the legal profession and the judiciary, we will strengthen the integrity of the procurement process and improve service delivery to citizens,” he said.
A statement from Zira Nagga, BPP’s Head of Media and Public Relations, said the MoU centres on deepening collaboration in public procurement administration, legal practice, capacity building and policy reforms to enhance transparency, accountability and value for money in the management of public funds.
A joint committee of the BPP and the NBA was inaugurated to oversee the implementation of the MoU.
Mr Nagga said said the committee was expected to develop training curricula and certification programmes for lawyers and judicial officers on procurement law and practice and advise on legal and policy reforms to strengthen the Public Procurement Act.
Mr Nagga said the committee will also support reviewing complex contracts, prosecuting procurement infractions and organizing sensitisation programmes for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the private sector and civil society organisations.
He said the partnership came at a time when the BPP was intensifying its oversight of procurement activities across MDAs, including the ongoing second batch of procurement audits.
“By equipping the legal community with procurement expertise, the collaboration aims to reduce litigation risks, improve contract enforcement and ensure public funds deliver maximum value to Nigerians,” Mr Nagga said.
Mr Adedokun added that the collaboration would also help produce procurement-savvy judicial officers and law students capable of effectively interpreting and applying the Public Procurement Act.
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In his remarks, the President of the NBA, Afam Osigwe, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), reaffirmed the association’s commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and professionalism in public procurement.
Mr Osigwe said weaknesses in procurement processes had contributed significantly to abandoned projects and the waste of public resources across the country.
He announced that procurement law and practice would henceforth be taught as a dedicated course at the NBA Institute of Legal Education to ensure newly admitted lawyers acquire adequate knowledge of procurement principles before entering practice.
(NAN)
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