Abia State government has been urged to strengthen its Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP to stand independently for good governance, transparency and public trust.

The call was made by participants from media and Civil Society Organizations, CSOs during a sensitisation training organized in Umuahia by the Rule of Law and anti-corruption program, ROLAC.

The participants, who noted that procurement processes must align with the needs of the people, said that there was a need for contracts to be published to strengthen transparency.

They argued that contracts should not be awarded without being made open for competitive bidding, even as they posited that contracts should not be awarded until a ‘Certificate of No Objection’ is presented.

The participants in the workshop who advised that contracts not be above financial threshold, also cautioned that a company without financial capacity should not be given a job to execute in Abia.

They added that projects should contain warrantees and durability assurances even as they urged all stakeholders to play their advisory and supervisory roles for good governance in Abia State.

In his speech, Project Coordinator of ROLAC in Abia State, Mr Peter Omenka said the program was organized to support good governance in Abia State and to advise the state where necessary, noting that the European Union and the International IDEA supported the workshop.

The lead consultant of ROLAC, Chukwuma Chinaka said the program was designed to positively engage the Abia State government about transparency in procurement practices.

Media, CSOs urge Abia govt to strengthen Bureau of Public Procurement for public trust