NDE advocates use of Procurement Act for job creation
NAN-HE-16
NDE
By Yakubu Uba
Yola, 11, 2016 (NAN) The Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mr Kunle Obayan, has advocated the use of the Public Procurement Act to create job for the unemployed.
Obayan made the call on Tuesday in Yola while addressing participants at a three-day workshop organised for procurement and other relevant officers of the directorate.
Obayan, who was represented by the Director, Finance and Accounts of the directorate, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, said the measure could be achieved through the insertion of relevant clauses in the Act.
He said that the clauses would require stating the number of jobs to be created in procurement proposals, especially those involving works and services.
“In this way, every procuring entity would serve as a window for creating jobs on an annual basis or as budgets are being implemented,” Obayan said.
Obayan said that the theme of the workshop, “Efficient Procurement: A tool for transparency and Accountability,” was based on the recognition that public procurement played a crucial role in economic development of every nation.
The Director, Procurement of NDE, Mr Abubakar Fikpo, said the workshop was timely due to the current economic recession which required prudent management of resources.
“Our economy has gone into recession. We are faced with the task of recovery and prudence in our expenditure or financial transactions.
“Thus, this workshop would not have come at a better time than now when we need to be more knowledgeable and enlightened economically to avoid other corrupt practices if we have to revive the economy to the state we desire.”
The Speaker of Adamawa House of Assembly lauded NDE for its role in job creation and urged participants to pay attention and to apply the knowledge “in discharging their responsibilities to advance the values of probity.”
The Adamawa State Coordinator of NDE, Mallam Isma’ila Yar’adua, lauded the support of the directorate in providing needed support to the state office to execute its tasks of job creation.
Yar’adua listed the on going training of 360 unemployed youths and the provision of resettlement items to 50 graduates of Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) as some of the empowerment programmes provided within the year. (NAN)
YMU/IA
(Edited by Idris Abdulrahman)