Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the ongoing reforms under President Bola Tinubu are gradually restoring global confidence in Nigeria, as reflected in the growing international participation in professional certification programmes hosted in the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that Shettima made the remarks on Thursday at the maiden Convocation Ceremony of the Nigeria Procurement Certification Programme (NPCP), held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia.
He said the graduation of the first cohort of 2,100 certified procurement professionals from Nigeria and other countries marked a major milestone in the implementation of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Today, we celebrate 2,100 certified procurement professionals from Nigeria and across the globe. This achievement signals that the international community is beginning to trust Nigeria’s reform efforts, the credibility of this programme and the seriousness of its content,” Shettima said.
According to him, the participation of foreign professionals in the programme underscores Nigeria’s determination to rise above mediocrity and become a benchmark for procurement excellence in Africa and beyond.
Procurement Now Central to Development
The Vice President noted that public procurement, once treated merely as an administrative necessity, has now become a core pillar of governance under the current administration.
“When procurement fails, development fails. The way public resources are converted into roads, hospitals, schools, security infrastructure and social services is determined by procurement. This administration understands that reality and has chosen to confront it head-on,” he said.
He added that for an ambitious nation like Nigeria, transparent and strategic management of public resources is the engine room of development under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Shettima described the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) as central to the reform drive, stressing that beyond regulation, the agency must build a professional, ethical and competent procurement workforce.
‘You Are Custodians of Public Trust’
Addressing the graduands, Shettima urged them to uphold integrity and patriotism in their professional conduct.
“You are stewards of value for money and custodians of public trust. Let your conscience be guided by your certification. Let integrity define your practice and loyalty to country be your compass,” he said.
He congratulated the BPP, the leadership of the SPESSE Project, development partners and international financial institutions, noting that the programme would help strengthen institutions, rebuild public trust and move Nigeria closer to its development goals.
Lawmakers, World Bank Laud Initiative
Earlier, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Procurement, Senator Olajide Ipinsagba, pledged the National Assembly’s support for the sustainability of the NPCP and urged the graduands to use their skills to enhance transparency and efficiency in public procurement.
Also speaking, Director-General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, said the programme, implemented with development partners, was designed to deepen capacity building and entrench a sustainable procurement culture in the public service.
He disclosed that President Tinubu has approved the full deployment of community-based procurement officers nationwide to align Nigeria’s procurement practices with global standards and ensure the judicious use of public funds.
National Project Coordinator of the SPESSE Project, Dr Joshua Attah, said the initiative marked a historic step toward accountability, adding that Centres of Excellence in Procurement had so far trained over 40,000 candidates through digital learning and certification platforms.
In her remarks, the World Bank’s Chief Procurement Officer, Ms Hiba Tahboub, commended the Federal Government for its sustained investment in procurement reforms and urged other African countries to emulate Nigeria’s structured approach to professionalising public procurement.
