News
President Tinubu To Open APC Think Tank Conference on Skills Acquisition
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on Tuesday declare open a Three Day National Conference that would address poverty, unemployment and skills’ gap in Nigeria.
The conference is designed by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC Think Tank and intellectual resource center, The Progressive Institute, TPI.
Themed: Vocational Skills Acquisition, Entrepreneurship and Challenges of Development in Nigeria, the conference is scheduled to hold from Tuesday, 17th to Thursday 19th December, 2024 at The Banquet Hall of The Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Chief host of the conference and APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said the conference is an intervention by the APC Leadership to contribute to the efforts of the Federal Government towards addressing the challenges of youths unemployment as well as the current gaps between many University degrees and work place requirements.
“TPI will assemble a team of Experts and practitioners to undertake empirical and clinical appraisals of the current challenges and proffer creative and imaginative solutions which will be forwarded to the Federal Government for consideration and implementation”.
Dr. Lanre Adebayo, Director General, DG of TPI noted that the event is a policy- driven Conference with the aim of addressing advanced skills sector such as Advanced Construction Technologies, Digital Technologies, Technical skills in Mining, Maritime, Advanced Welding Certifications, Skills in Sustainable development and Climate Change Agriculture (including value chain processing, agro-preneurship) etc.
The DG said the Conference will undertake a comparative and historical analyses of the experiences of countries such as Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia which built their economies on related advanced vocational skills.
“Foreign and Nigerian based groups have been invited to deliver position papers on these areas. And some of them from Britain and China have offered to raise funds for a proposed Zonal Skills Acquisition Centers”
Dr. Adebayo added that there are middle level as well as low level vocational skills which will also feature at the programme. He said the essence is to shortlist these skills especially in the context of their relevance to each of the Country’s six geo-political areas.
He added that conference seeks a review of the extant Nigerian educational curriculum with a view to examining how to restore and strengthen the vocational content.
“It will also examine how to further utilize the cooperative model in organizing small and medium scale enterprises into powerful economic units especially to create wealth on sustainable basis”
It promises to be expository as Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEDAN), Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Bank of Industry, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and other government and non-governmentmental organizations, NGO have been invited to contribute to the conference.
Business
Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management Advocates Digitisation of Procurement Processes, Rolls Out New Website
By Joel Ajayi
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) has unveiled a revamped website as part of its broader push to accelerate the digitisation of procurement processes across the country.
The relaunch was announced at the institute’s 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday in Abuja, where the North Central Coordinator of CIPSMN, Abdul Mamman, said the initiative would strengthen real-time information sharing, expand member participation and align the profession with global best practices.
Mamman warned that organisations and professionals who failed to embrace digital procurement risked being left behind in an increasingly technology-driven environment.
According to him, the upgraded website is designed to provide members with timely feedback, wider engagement and access to real-time information within and outside Nigeria.
“By adopting digital procurement systems and platforms, we create opportunities to save time and efficiently analyse large volumes of activities involved in procurement,” Mamman said.
“When you are digitalised, your coverage is wider and information is shared instantly. That is why we are relaunching our website—to ensure broader participation and enable every member to access real-time information.”
He added that the institute was positioning its members to meet global standards in procurement and supply chain management through the adoption of emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and data analytics.
Mamman explained that the institute’s objective was to add value to procurement by promoting proper sourcing systems, relevant skills, recognised credentials and practical competence.
He also called on the Federal Government to strengthen procurement governance by inaugurating the National Council of Public Procurement, describing it as a critical policy-making body.
“We are appealing to President Bola Tinubu to inaugurate the National Council of Public Procurement,” he said.
“Once inaugurated, the council will oversee procurement activities and report directly to the President, ensuring greater transparency and accountability.”
In his remarks, the President of CIPSMN, Alhaji Sikiru Balogun, said the AGM provided an opportunity to assess the institute’s progress and outline an action plan for 2026.
Balogun disclosed that a major priority for the coming year was securing presidential assent to a bill already passed by the National Assembly, seeking to amend the institute’s name from Purchasing and Supply Management to Procurement and Supply Management.
“The bill has been passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. What we now seek is presidential assent,” he said.
“The name change is to align the institute with global best practices and reflect the true scope of the profession worldwide.”
Also speaking, the Registrar of the institute, Alhaji Mohammed Aliyu, described the 2025 AGM as successful, noting growing recognition of procurement as a critical driver of economic development.
Aliyu said the institute remained committed to promoting professionalism, ethical conduct and best practices in procurement, a sector he noted accounts for a significant portion of the national budget.
He called for stricter professionalism in the sector, lamenting what he described as the encroachment of unqualified “mid-career professionals” into procurement roles.
“This is not ideal and is unethical,” he said.
“Our focus in the coming year is to ensure that the profession takes its rightful place, with qualified practitioners occupying procurement positions in both the public and private sectors.”
Aliyu expressed confidence that strengthening professionalism in procurement would support the economic reform agenda of the Tinubu administration and enhance transparency and efficiency in public spending.
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