The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Edo State Public Procurement Agency (EDPPA), Henry Imogiemhe Idogun, has attributed the remarkable achievements in public procurement in the State to the visionary leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki, noting that the governor has set a new benchmark for accountability and transparency in public procurement in the country.
Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Idogun said Edo State has, in the past six years, witnessed a paradigm shift in the way public procurement is conducted, elevating the state’s procurement system and processes to unprecedented levels of efficiency, fairness and compliance.
According to him, Edo has become a model for other sub-nationals and countries since implementing landmark reforms by Governor Obaseki to instill transparency and probity in its procurement processes as not less than 19 Nigerian States and two countries have visited the State to understudy the transformational changes.
The Managing Director noted: “The Governor’s support is the reason why we are able to achieve so much in public procurement in Edo State. Sometimes, they take a file to him and he asks if it has gone through procurement. He asks questions when he is not sure when he is not seeing evidence in the file. Sometimes he approves, and writes, ‘subject to the procurement process.”
Idogun stated, “I have always and I will continue to thank His Excellency, the Governor for his leadership. I will always remain loyal to the governor because of what he represents; his vision for Edo State. So, we will continue to do our best in support of his MEGA Agenda. Nobody was in Edo State between 8 and 10 years ago and will say Edo is not making progress. That person is not being sincere with himself.
“Under this Governor, Edo has made tremendous progress. Is it in human capital development, which is imperative for proficiency? Is it the infrastructure? The way he is, he is not somebody that wants to be loud otherwise we would have filled everywhere singing our praises. Some of us are unrepentantly loyal to his vision for a better Edo State and we have no apology for that.
He added, “Edo people, I don’t think they could have asked for anything better than what they have in Governor Obaseki and I just want to pray that we have somebody who will share 200% of his vision to take over from him so that some of the good foundation he has laid can be built upon and then we can unlock growth and development in Edo.”
