The workshop, which was organized by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in collaboration with Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), had a consortium of CSOs and other Non-State Actors (NSAs) in attendance.  Also in attendance are the Executive Director of CISLAC Auwal Musa Rafsanjani and the Director General, BPP Engr. Ezeh Emeka represented by Mohammed Gambo Mu’azu, Deputy Director Training at BPP. 57 Participants attended the training with three key paper presentations.

The objectives of the workshop are as follows:

1. To increase partnerships between CSOs, the Bureau and government procurement/ oversight institutions for a transparent and effective procurement process.
2. To increase awareness and improve the general knowledge and understanding of Public Procurement Act 2007.
3. To improve the practice and implementation of the procurement system at the state level in Nigeria via advocacy effort during programme implementation.
4. To understand and enhance the skill on the use of the checklist in monitoring and observation for public procurement implementation.
5. To increase the numbers of CSOs and professional bodies that effectively participate in monitoring of government procurement actions.

After deliberation and brainstorming, the participants therefore observed the followings:

1. That the promulgation of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 was timely and very much in order in view of the extent to which corruption has permeated the fabrics of the Nigeria nation.
2. That there is very low awareness of this Public Procurement Act 2007 and its intendment among Nigerians.
3. That the decisions of the BPP and CISLAC in increasing awareness on the Public Procurement Act 2007 is very much in order.
4. That many public office holders in Nigeria are used to not following the procurement process in awarding contracts. Since people are always reluctant to change; it means a lot of work has to be done to make these people cum officials comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
5. That it is risky to blow whistles on corrupt practices in Nigeria as perpetrators may go to any length to keep whistle blowers quiet.
6. That absence of information democratic laws such as Freedom of Information (FOI) is protective of corruption and corrupt officers.
7. That Lip services are being paid to announce effort at combating corruption and at ensuring that due process is followed in awarding contracts.

In view of the foregoing; the workshop recommends as follows:

1. Sensitization, enlightenment and awareness creation be scaled up.
2. That would-be CSOs and monitors be more empowered.
3. That a lot more people need to be trained and educated on the provisions on Public Procurement Act 2007.
4. That those who might have been trained should be further empowered and logistically assisted to spread the knowledge gained among other people.
5. That Effort should be put in place to engage the active commitment of media organizations towards increasing visibility of the PPA at all levels in order to ensure adequate compliance with the Act.
6. That the BPP, CISLAC and CSOs need to collaborate further towards leading the process of establishing and utilizing concerted advocacy, communication and social mobilization strategies for implementing the provisions of the PPA at all levels.
7. That BPP and CISLAC spread enlightenment and awareness creation to more areas of state and local government levels.
8. That this awareness be taken to the local governments.
9. That our judiciary discharge cases more expeditiously especially cases bordering on corruption on procurement and contracts.
10. That the idea of ‘sacred cows’ be done away with in the dispensation of justice in Nigeria.
11. That the BPP should, as a matter of urgency, continue to collaborate with CISLAC and other stakeholders in the domestication of Public Procurement Act 2007 in all states of the Federation.
12. That it is agreed that sustainability of the reforms can only be achieved when the ordinary citizens feel a sense of true ownership and are willing to hold government accountable.
13. That CSOs in Oyo state demand a law on Public Procurement in  order  to  minimize  corruption  on  procurement and contract scam in Oyo state
14. Finally the participants thanked CISLAC and BPP and urged them to continue with this good intervention

Signed by:
Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)
Executive Director
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
Tunde Odunlade
ICBACA