Foremost teachers’ training institution in Nigeria, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo, has disclosed that it is utilising information technology to drive its procurement processes, to complement the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy of the Federal Government, to stem corruption in government institutions.
The Provost of the College, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, at a recent function, affirmed that the initiative would change the face of procurement in the Nigerian public sector.
Ogen explained that the institution embarked on e-Procurement having realised that the college like other parastatals is not insulated from the possible risks of over-pricing, purchase fraud, purchase of inferior or sub-standard items, contract over-pricing and other vices.
He disclosed that the college mandated its IT infrastructure provider to develop and deploy an Electronic Price and Project Monitoring and an e-procurement software in line with Section 5 (q-r) and Section 16 (12) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
“The primary goal of this world class innovation is to develop, update and maintain a robust digital database that will make the procurement system more transparent, fair, faster, efficient and competitive, thus reducing the opportunities for manipulation and corruption.
“Of course, this is a major feat, considering the fact that our College appears to be the only public institution where this has been successfully adopted and effectively deployed,” he said.
The Provost pointed out that by adopting the e-procurement model, contractors and service providers do not need to waste their resources travelling down to submit their tenders as the e-procurement platform readily settles that.
He explained further, “As a matter of fact, prospective bidders from any part of the world can pay, download our tender documents and submit their pass-worded documents online without visiting the college. We have therefore actualised and achieved a goal set out since 2007 by the Bureau of Public Procurement.”
The Provost said the college e-procurement platform is an integral part of a scalable fibre optics network infrastructure interconnecting offices, lecture halls and hostels.
He added that virtually all activities on the campus are connected through e-platforms.
Other innovations include a fully fitted Data Centre, an IP Surveillance System, a Virtual learning system (ACETV), an e- hospital management system that manages the College clinic, an e-personnel management system, e-revenue collection and accounting systems and an e-student management system.
The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof. Bappa-Aliyu Mohammad, who was happy with the giant strides of the institution, particularly in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), described the E-procurement innovation as fantastic.
He disclosed that the commission would help to institutionalise it, though he noted that it would require a strong administrative team, planning, expertise and dedication.
Head of Regulation and Data Base, Towards Public Procurement (TPP), Aliyu Aliyu, mentioned that the initiative has shown that Nigeria, as the giant of the Black Race, is not only taking steps to follow the trends in technology but also defending the efficacy of the nation’s educational system.
Aside the transparency and accountability in procurement, he added that the innovation could also be deployed, as a result of its designs, to check some inimical acts and examination malpractices on campus.
