Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr Adebowale Adedokun, has urged the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) to strictly comply with the Public Procurement Act, 2007, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said.

This was contained in a statement, by Zira Nagga, BPP’s Head of Media and Public Relations, in Abuja.

Adedokun, according to Nagga, gave the charge while delivering a virtual lecture at a two-day induction programme for members of the SSDC Board and Senior Management.

He said the programme was organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) and the SSDC.

Adedokun, who spoke on the theme: ‘Essentials of the public procurement’, described procurement as a strategic instrument for national development rather than merely a purchasing function.

The director-general urged the commission to uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, accountability, open competition, value for money, efficiency and effectiveness in all procurement processes.

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He warned against common procurement violations, including defective bidding processes, manipulation of bid evaluations, bypassing BPP oversight, misuse of emergency procurement provisions, poor record-keeping and failure to comply with bid-opening timelines.