Pantami Regrets Procurement Act Misuse.
Isa Ali Pantami, the minister of communications and digital economy, has warned that certain federal workers are abusing the procurement Act to commit corruption.
He said that although there are several significant laws in Nigeria, their application has sometimes proven difficult rather than beneficial.
Speaking at the Ministerial Retreat for the Board and management of the Nigerian Communication Satellite Ltd. with the theme “Re-engineering the NIGCOMSAT Board and management for 4th Industrial Revolution and exponential growth,” Pantami bemoaned that any policy introduced is typically abused, adding that the procurement act is a crucial piece of legislation to fight corruption, but people are now using it to perpetrate corruption.
In order to improve performance, efficiency, and effectiveness, the minister emphasized the need to reinvigorate and reposition NIGCOMSAT. He reminded that the 2012 Orunsanye report had proposed the merger and closure of 106 Federal government agencies.
He said, “I have carefully read the report and have noted that performance plays a significant role in the suggestion of institutions to be kept and others to be eliminated. There is no way the government could consider eliminating or combining our institution if we can turn things around and make it very productive and effective. It was suggested that NITDA be eliminated, however given how well the agency has operated recently, the government is not considering eliminating NITDA once again or combining it; instead, it is considering giving the organization new tasks. If we don’t make a change, the question of whether NIGCOMSAT should be privatized or commercialized will sometimes come up again. There probably won’t be another chance for NIGCOMSAT to do so if it doesn’t take advantage of this one.
Pantami said that although public workers are the backbone of any government, this is sadly not always the case in Nigeria as sometimes instead of doing their duties, civil officials choose to intimidate the government by using their unions.
