By Yisa Usman,
Bureau of Public Procurement. The agency’s certification initiative has sparked renewed debate on procurement professionalism in Nigeria.
Recent publications credited to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) challenging the legality of the Bureau of Public Procurement’s (BPP) professional certification initiatives, particularly the Nigeria Procurement Certification Programme (NPCP), have generated public debate and institutional tension. While professional discourse is healthy, it must be grounded in law, institutional mandate, and the overriding national interest of strengthening Nigeria’s public procurement system.
The Bureau of Public Procurement is a statutory body established under the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007. Section 3 of the Act formally establishes the Bureau, while Section 5 clearly outlines its functions. Of particular relevance is Section 5(a), which mandates the BPP to formulate the general policies and guidelines relating to public sector procurement for the approval of the National Council on Public Procurement. Equally important is Section 5(k), which empowers the Bureau to coordinate relevant training programmes to build institutional capacity. Specifically, the section empowers the Bureau to organize training and development programmes for procurement professionals.
These provisions leave little doubt that capacity building, skills development, and professional competence fall squarely within the statutory responsibilities of the BPP. The NPCP, developed with World Bank support and administered through the NPCP Board, is therefore not an aberration but a practical response to this mandate.
Furthermore, Sections 5(h & q) and 6(f) of the Act authorise the Bureau to “maintain a national database of contractors and service providers and include classification and categorisation of contractors.” Implicit in this function is the need for qualified procurement officers capable of managing, evaluating, and regulating procurement activities in line with due process. Certification is one of the globally accepted mechanisms for validating such competence.
Nowhere in the PPA 2007 is the BPP prohibited from initiating or coordinating a professional certification programme. The argument that only one professional body can certify procurement practitioners is not supported by statute. The law focuses on outcomes through efficiency, transparency, value for money, and compliance, not institutional monopoly.
Nigeria’s procurement system continues to suffer from a significant shortfall of trained professionals capable of managing complex public procurement processes. This gap has been repeatedly identified as a contributor to procurement failures, weak contract management, and governance challenges. The NPCP was designed precisely to address this deficit through a structured, competency-based framework aligned with both local legal requirements and international best practices.
It is instructive to note that Nigeria’s professional ecosystem already accommodates parallel institutions without legal contradiction. The accounting profession, for instance, thrives with the coexistence of ICAN and ANAN, both established by law and contributing to national capacity development. The existence of one does not invalidate the other. Procurement should not be treated differently, particularly given its central role in public finance management.
Concerns raised about the NPCP would have been better addressed through constructive engagement or judicial interpretation, rather than public alarm. Questions of statutory scope or institutional authority are matters for the courts, not criminal investigation. Dragging public officers and a statutorily enabled institution before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over a legal interpretation amounts to institutional overreach. Judicial clarification, not criminalisation, is the appropriate path where statutory interpretation is disputed.
Looking forward, a more sustainable solution would be for the Bureau of Public Procurement to initiate a Bill to the National Assembly aimed at transforming the World Bank–supported NPCP into a body chartered to a full-fledged professional body, designed to complement existing procurement institutes. Such a move would provide legislative clarity, deepen specialisation in public procurement, institutionalise ethical and technical standards, and significantly strengthen procurement governance nationwide.
Ultimately, the issue at hand should not be framed as a turf war between institutions but as a question of national capacity and public interest. Nigeria needs more competent procurement professionals, not fewer; more collaboration, not exclusion; and reforms that close knowledge gaps rather than suppress them.
In this regard, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement and the NPCP Board deserve commendation for pursuing an initiative aimed at professionalising public procurement practice and strengthening the country’s procurement architecture in line with the spirit and letter of the law.
Yisa Usman is a Fellow Procurement Professional (NPCP), Fellow Chartered Accountant (ICAN) and Fellow Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN). He writes from Abuja. Email: topusman@gmail.com
