The Chairman of the Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission, Mr. Samuel Abejide, has charged Procurement Officers across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability in the discharge of their duties.
Mr. Abejide gave the charge on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of a Two-Day Workshop on “Strategic Procurement Planning and Development for Effective Service Delivery,” held in Ado-Ekiti.
Represented by a commissioner in the commission Mr. Wole Olujobi said the theme of the workshop was at the core of governance and was very timely, considering the critical role procurement plays in service delivery.
According to him, “Local Government is the closest tier of government to the people and our people assess us by the quality of services we provide; and effective service delivery cannot be achieved where procurement is poorly planned and executed.”
He explained that the workshop was designed to strengthen participants’ capacity in areas such as procurement needs assessment, procurement planning, cost estimation, preparation of procurement documents, contract administration, monitoring and evaluation, record keeping and prevention of procurement irregularities.
Mr. Abejide urged the participants to actively participate in the discussions, share practical experiences and seek clarifications where necessary, stressing that the knowledge acquired should be applied to improve procurement processes in their respective councils.
He commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji, for his investment in human capital development in the Local Government Service.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Rotimi Akomolede, who was represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Mr. Adedayo Famisa, described the workshop as timely.
He noted that while some procurement officers have been performing creditably well, there have been adverse reports on some others, hence the need for the Commission to update their knowledge and enhance their professional capacity.
“As we used to say, you are out to get value for money. Let the Commission have value for its money this time around. It is expected that the knowledge you are going to gain here today will be used to enhance your professional capacity and demonstrate it in your place of work,” he said.
Mr. Akomolede stressed that procurement is central to good governance and not just for bureaucratic requirements, adding that effective and efficient implementation of government programmes and projects lies in the hands of procurement officers.
He urged participants to cooperate with the resource persons, take the training seriously and step down the knowledge to their subordinate officers.
One of the participants, Dr. Gabriel Adelusi, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, appreciated the Local Government Service Commission for organizing the training.
“We so much appreciate the management of the Local Government Service Commission for this training, not only to add to our knowledge, but to enhance our productivity. We promise to apply whatever knowledge we gain here to our work in our various duty posts,” Dr. Adedeji said.
Omolara Oladija
Director of information
Ekiti State Local Government Service Commission
