The Lagos State Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has pointed out that to maintain its enviable position as the commercial, industrial and economic hub in the West African sub-region, Lagos State must continue to work in synergy with experts and men and women of ideas to enable the State “continue to soar high and achieve its Greater Lagos Dream”.
The Head of Service stated this on Wednesday in a keynote address delivered on his behalf by the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Mrs. Olasunkanmi Oyegbola, at the engagement with the Business Community on Procurement Process and Annual General Meeting organised by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, held at the Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
While emphasising that the position the Agency occupies in the delivery of goods, works and services by the State Government could not be overemphasised, Mr. Muri-Okunola noted that this position calls for continuous understanding and cooperation between the Agency and stakeholders in the procurement chain, adding that for the relationship to be mutually beneficial to the parties involved, it must be nurtured through regular engagements, consultation and collaboration.
He commended the members of the Governing Board and Management Staff of the Agency for regularly engaging with service providers on issues affecting the public procurement system in the State, adding that this, coupled with the professionalism and uncommon determination demonstrated by the members of the top officials of the Agency, has carved a niche for the Agency and, indeed, the State Government among their peers both within and outside the country.
The Head of Service, therefore, implored members of the Business Community and service providers to continue to offer useful suggestions and ideas to meet the changing dynamics of the operating business environment in the State.
Speaking earlier while welcoming participants to the ceremony, the Director-General, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Mr. Fatai Idowu Onafowote stated that the main objective of the engagement was to enable the Agency to draw from the experiences, expertise and resources of members of the Business Community and the panel of discussants.
He stated that the Agency had resolved to continue to leverage the use of technological tools as a foundation for achieving a seamless public procurement system in Lagos State.
“With 107 Ministries, Departments and Agencies already onboarded on the e-procurement platform and another 33 scheduled for integration on the platform in the current year, we have crossed the Rubicon; there is no going back. We shall, therefore, continue to leave no stone unturned to continuously improve the public procurement system in the State”, Onafowote stated.
Mr. Onafowote enjoined the participants at the event to actively participate in the discourse to enable the Agency to generate ideas that would enhance the efficiency of the public procurement system in the State.
He pointed out that the engagement forum was designed to build on the foundation already laid by the Agency from the synergy it had been building with other organisations towards eliminating all the perceived encumbrances militating against the smooth operation of the public procurement process in the State.
In his goodwill message, the Chairman, House Committee on Procurement, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olawale Age-Rauf Sulaimon, stated that the House was committed to ensuring the onboarding of all MDAs in the State.
Some of the members of the Business Community, including Mr. Wale Obayomi, a Consultant and Mr. Oluwafemi Joshua of Millennial Technology, commended the Agency for its efforts towards ensuring a seamless procurement process and its prompt feedback on enquiries from stakeholders.
Some other participants also seized the opportunity to lodge complaints, seek clarifications or offer suggestions.
Members of the panel of discussants, drawn from the State Treasury Office, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Alpha Beta Consulting, Kehinde Kassim and Co., Corporate Affairs Commission, Lagos Internal Revenue Service, Office of Internal Audit, Soft Alliance, Land Use Charge and the Lagos State Health Management Agency, were able to educate participants on what they needed to do to further facilitate a seamless public procurement system in the State.
Also at the event which had as its theme: “Achieving a Seamless Public Procurement System Through Collaboration”, the Year 2022 Annual Report of the Agency was also unveiled by the representative of the Head of Service, Mrs. Olasunkanmi Oyegbola and was supported by other dignitaries, including the Chairman, House Committee on Procurement, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olawale Age-Sulaimon Rauf among others.
