The Federal Government says it is committed to reforming the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and achieving a fully digital procurement system.

Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), stated this on Monday in Port Harcourt.

He spoke while declaring open the 2026 Mandatory Continuous Public Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme.

Represented by his Special Assistant, Prof. Babatunde Benard, Akume said that the reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda would reposition government institutions greater performance.

He said that the reforms were aimed at improving transparency, accountability, value for money, and effective service delivery.

Akume described BPP as a critical institution that could significantly influence the quality, cost and timely delivery of government projects if efficiently handled.

“BPP is responsible for a very serious process in governance, and so we cannot afford to play with it,” he said.

The SGF said that effective procurement went beyond awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, saying, “low cost does not necessarily translate into quality or value”

He said that an efficient procurement process must ensure that projects were delivered with the right quality and price while preventing unnecessary cost inflation.

Akume said that the Federal Government was working towards a completely digital procurement system that allowed firm access control and prevention of manipulation.

“The procurement thresholds had also been increased to improve administrative efficiency,” he said.

He said that government was monitoring the implementation and impact of its reforms through digital dashboards located in the offices of the President, SGF and Head of Service.

The SGF urged contractors and procurement officials to operate within approved profit margins and avoid practices that could undermine procurement integrity.

Akume further said that continuous training and retraining of procurement personnel was essential to achieving reform objectives.

The SGF urged participants to apply the knowledge acquired in order to improve procurement practices within their respective institutions.

He stressed that efficient procurement would contribute to quality projects and accelerate national development.

According to him, every money spent by government should provide value to citizens.

Also speaking, the Director-General, BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, said that the Federal Government was extending procurement reforms to states and local governments.

Adedokun said that significant public expenditure and development activities occurred at the sub-national level, making their involvement critical to procurement reforms.

He said that BPP had strengthened partnerships with procurement institutions across the 36 states and local governments, to promote common standards, ethical practices, good governance and digital transformation.

He said that the bureau was working to institutionalise procurement capacity development through a Procurement Excellence Programme and Procurement Academy.

According to him, officers would receive training and mentorship from experienced professionals under the programme.

Adedokun said that the training was designed to promote knowledge sharing, mentorship and adherence to international best practices.

Earlier, Dr Ine Briggs, the D-G, Rivers State Bureau of Public Procurement, commended Adedokun for strengthening coordination among procurement institutions.

Briggs said that the coordination would help to bridge knowledge and implementation gaps across procurement institutions.

She said that Rivers BPP remained committed to embracing innovations in procurement, including the Digital Procurement Forum.

Briggs expressed the need for continued collaboration among the three tiers of government in order to ensure transparency, efficiency and better value for public resources.