Kwara advocates for professional collaboration in public project execution
The Kwara State Government has reaffirmed the critical role of professional collaboration in the successful execution of public projects, highlighting that the active involvement of qualified experts is essential for ensuring project quality and accountability.
During a stakeholders’ meeting with professional ministries in Ilorin on Wednesday, QS Raheem Abdulbaki, General Manager of the Kwara State Public Procurement Agency (PPA), emphasized the need for professionals to take ownership of their responsibilities. He urged them to act as vigilant overseers of government contracts, ensuring that projects adhere to the highest standards of professionalism.
“Professionals need to wake up to their duties by ensuring that they monitor all government contracts towards ensuring that they are professionally done,” Abdulbaki stated. He criticized the ongoing inefficiencies plaguing the state due to lapses in project execution, asserting that every project must be supervised by experienced professionals to foster a culture of excellence.
He further instructed all professional ministries to ensure that no project with professional components moves forward without adequate input from the relevant experts.
In response, Mr. Olaitan Afolabi, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, commended the PPA for its initiatives, recalling past interventions that facilitated the inclusion of professionals in ministries for better oversight of state projects. He called for a comprehensive overhaul of project monitoring mechanisms to yield results-driven outcomes.
Mallam Salau Kabiru Abdullahi, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, assured the agency of his ministry’s commitment to enhancing inter-agency collaboration, which is crucial at this juncture.
Mrs. Rebecca Bake, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, described the push for synergy as “long overdue” and urged relevant stakeholders to work closely with the PPA to achieve sustainable development in the state.
Mrs. Omolola Christiana Asonibare, representing the Ministry of Water Resources, echoed these sentiments, expressing the ministry’s readiness to leverage its pool of professionals to support the state’s developmental objectives.
Several attendees commended Abdulbaki for his consistent professionalism, noting that it has been a defining aspect of his leadership since his tenure as Director of Building Services in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and now as head of the Procurement Agency.
The meeting saw participation from various management staff of the Ministries of Water Resources, Housing and Urban Development, Education and Human Capital Development, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), and the Procurement Agency itself.
