TheCable

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says it will establish an open contracting data standard platform for procurement of goods and services.

Ogbonnaya Orji, the agency’s director of communications, said this in a statement issued in Abuja.

He said the online platform was to provide comprehensive public information and disclosure on all procurement opportunities and contracting information by NEITI to the public.

‎He said the decision was consistent with President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to agreements reached at the anti-corruption summit held in London in 2016.

“At the summit, President Buhari had declared: ‘We will work towards full implementation of the principles of the open contracting data standard, focusing on major projects as an early priority,” he said.
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“We will apply the open contracting data standard to the following major projects: development of refineries in the oil sector, building of health centres and improvement of health services.

“Others are building of roads and other infrastructure; building of schools and improving transparency in the management of education funds and investment in the power sector.”

Wazir Adio, NEITI executive secretary, expressed delight that NEITI was the first government agency to fully embrace open contracting data standard in line with the public procurement act and bidding regulations of the bureau of public procurement.

Adio said the online platform was to be hosted as a portal on NEITI’s website.

He added that it would have a feedback component aimed at promoting transparency, accountability and value for money in public transactions.

Adio also said the platform would enable NEITI to provide regular information and data to the public on all procurement opportunities, contracting processes and requirements.

He said the development came following recent ranking of NEITI by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) as one of the few federal government agencies.

Adio said it was making significant strides in good corporate governance, using the BPSR self-assessment tool for measurement.

He said the reform tools NEITI ranked very high included integrity of its procurement process, corporate governance, change management, understanding and clarity of mandate and corporate strategy.

Others are performance and the ability of NEITI to align its plan and mandate with available resources in the discharge of its responsibilities.

He said as part of efforts to fully embrace corporate governance, NEITI recently unveiled a special portal to deepen its implementation of the freedom of information act.

Seember Nyager, chief executive of PPDC, welcomed the partnership between NEITI and her organisation in promoting an open, accountable, competitive procurement process to ensure efficiency and value for money in the procurement of goods, works and services.

Adio endorsed the MoU on behalf of the agency while, Nyager signed on behalf of her organisation.