Molly Kilete, Abuja
A three-day training on procurement for Commandants, Bursars and Administrative Officers of Nigerian Army Command Secondary Schools has opened in Abuja.
The seminar which is holding at the Army Resource Centre is aimed at enhancing the capacity of personnel for effective manage of financial and procurement system.
Declaring the seminar open, Chief Of Army Staff(COAS), Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, while noting that the importance of education and a conducive learning environment in Nigerian army schools cannot be over emphasised, said the training had become necessary to educate administrators to be prudent with available resources and achieve the desired result.
Buratai, said the seminar which has the theme: “Enhancing the capacity of personnel for efficient procurement and financial management in Command Secondary Schools”, wasvcarefully chosen to reinstate his vision and commitment to training and man power development which according to him is the the only way to increase proficiency and productivity in the system.
Buratai who said the seminar could not have come at a better time than now when renewed efforts were being made to improve the state of infrastructure and internal financial accounting procedures in army Command Secondary Schools across the country, said that the seminar had also provided a window of opportunity to the Nigerian Army to appraise its performances in the various military schools with a view to reinvigorating it effectiveness and enhance efficiency.
He revealed that the Army had in the last four years established 22 Command Secondary Schools across the country to cater for the educational needs of not just its personnel but the barracks communities and the nation at large.
He called on personnel to continue to remain apolitical and uphold the tenets of military professionalism in their dealings.
“We need to remain absolutely loyal to Mr President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is a nonnegotiable part of our profession.
” Commanders at all levels must continue to provide requisite leadership and ensure that their personnel are continually reminded of the need to be apolitical and continue to uphold the tenets of military professionalism.”
In an address on the occasion, the acting Director, Procurement Brigadier-General Essien, said the seminar aims at broadening the knowledge and capacity of officers and men of the Nigerian Army on procurement processes and financial procedures for improved productivity.
He said the training would also provide an opportunity for the personnel to share knowledge and ideas on procurement processes and procedures in line with the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 and other extant procurement regulations.