Imperatives for Setting up a Body of Knowledge on Public Procurement Practice in Nigeria

: A body of knowledge (BOK) refers to the core teachings and skills required to work in a particular field of human endeavor or industry. This study is set to ascertain if there is need to develop an acceptable body of knowledge on public procurement practice in Nigeria. It adopted a survey research design as open ended questionnaires were administered and used to elicit response on subject matter. The population consists of procurement staff in some selected MDA’s at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Outcome of the study reveals that there is no one-stop body of knowledge or a comprehensive guide on procurement practice in Nigeria. This may be a pointer to the fact that, there is need to establish one. It is one thing for Nigeria to enact the Public Procurement Act; it is yet another for practitioners as well as the general public to fully understand and imbibe the basic tenets and regulations guiding the procurement practice. It will be necessary to train and retrain practitioners and a veritable tool in this direction is the establishment of a body of knowledge on procurement practice. If this is properly articulated, will provide the procedures, skills and tools needed to practice the trade. This is bound to impact positively on process flow and make for a good procurement practice in Nigeria.


Background Information
A body of knowledge (BOK) refers to the core teachings and skills required to work in a particular field of human endeavor or industry. It is a formal way of referring to things we more commonly call core competencies and required skills. A body of knowledge is a list of things one must know and be able to do before he/she is accepted as a professional by the organization doing the accreditation. Universities have a defined body of knowledge that a student must demonstrate their familiarity with before being granted a degree. Trades have a body of knowledge that an apprentice works through in order to become a full journeyman of the trade. The actual content of a body of knowledge for a particular profession evolves over time. This is one of the reasons that associations are often in charge of accreditation, as it is very difficult for people outside of a particular industry to keep up with The purpose, essence or application of a body of knowledge in a discipline such as public procurement is quite manifold and significant as information contained therein will assist stakeholders to make informed decisions especially in budget implementation and tracking down of unethical behaviors in course of executing a capital project.
A Body of knowledge will provide a one stop shop for procurement laws and regulations, approved templates, bidding documents, best practices, executive orders and all necessary government policies and directives for procurement practitioners and stakeholders. This will help them to get it right all the time. A body of knowledge will be a live document that will be updated regularly by relevant stake holders and whence it is recognized and accepted will enhance the chances of procurement success over most projects. A body of knowledge will also provide and promote a common vocabulary amongst the procurement professionals. A common vocabulary is an essential element of a professional discipline. A potential public procurement lexicon can be derived over time from a body of knowledge. This will provide the foundational professional vocabulary that can be consist7ently used by stakeholders. In addition to the standards that a body of knowledge will engender, it will also institute, a Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Since public procurement practitioners come from diverse backgrounds and cultures, an acceptable body of knowledge will institute a code of Ethics and Professional Conduct It will spell out the basic obligation of responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty. It requires that practitioners demonstrate a commitment to ethical and professional conduct. It carries the obligation to comply with laws, regulations, and organizational and professional policies. It will also enable practitioners to be committed to honest, responsible, fair practices and respectful dealings. One of the cardinal objectives and mandate of the Bureau of public procurement is to develop a body of knowledge on public procurement and practice. This bureau has been at the forefront of championing the due process flow. A body of knowledge that will help strengthen the procurement process flow will be a welcome development to all tiers of government. It will go a long way in fulfilling one of the cardinal objectives of setting up the Bureau of public procurement in Nigeria. A body of knowledge on public procurement is essential for practitioners as it could become a requirement in the near future for qualifying examinations into public procurement practice. According to the African Development Bank (2012), public procurement accounts for as much as 70% of the budgets of African governments. This underscores the significance of public procurement. It may very well be said that, fortification of the procurement process is vital to the extra reasons of limiting the expected impacts of monetary/financial emergencies and reestablishing a degree of monetary development and improvement adequate to lessen neediness. It is absurd to expect to accomplish these targets without getting the effectiveness and uprightness of procurement systems. In this way, accomplishing a collection of information on procurement systems will in no little measure help to make the profession more visible, viable and vibrant. Lastly, the making of and acceptance of public procurement practice as a profession, is a pointer to the fact that, perhaps it has need for a body of knowledge. If this is properly articulated and harnessed will provide the, procedures skills, and tools needed to practice the trade. This is bound to have a significant impact on the level of procurement successes.

Problem Statement.
Public procurement is the regulation of principles, rules and procedures applied to States in order to implement efficient processes when acquiring goods, services or works, and comply with its' policy objectives. Prior to 2007, there were so many setbacks in public procurement practice in Nigeria that called for reforms in the public sector. The reform agenda has done a great deal in tackling some of the identified problems especially at the federal tier of government in Nigeria, It is yet to be learned if the practitioners and the general public completely comprehend and appreciate the relevant sections and regulations that make up the public procurement Act and its usage. Some of the practitioners are not articulate and focused. They still operate as led by their instincts. It ought not to be so. A number of studies have been conducted on this discuss in some government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria, yet none supposedly has been articulated on an acceptable Body of Knowledge on Public procurement practice in Nigeria. It is one thing to enact the PPA (public procurement Act), it is another to comprehend and execute it to the later. How much of these standards and guidelines have the practitioners and the general public been able to imbibe? Is there a guide, a manual or an articulated body of knowledge on public procurement that one can fall back on or make reference to? That is the crux of the matter and the problem of study! Consequently, this investigation is set to overcome any barrier by giving some valuable tips on the most proficient method to producing an acceptable body of knowledge on public procurement practice in Nigeria, if at all there is none in existence.

Objectives
The significant goals of this investigation are to ascertain if a body of knowledge exists on public procurement practice in Nigeria and to appraise the need to establish one if there is none in existence.

Hypotheses
The following research hypotheses will be tested in this investigation. H01: A body of knowledge on public procurement practice does not exist in Nigeria. H02: There is no need trying to establish an acceptable body of knowledge on public procurement practice in Nigeria. H03: Practitioners will not encounter any hitches while trying to institute a boy of knowledge on Public procurement in Nigeria.

Justification of study
The word '' imperative" means that something is of a vital importance, an authoritative command or an essential or urgent thing to do. This study is essential as it will in no small measure help to support the public procurement practice and to make the profession more visible, viable and vibrant.

Scope of study.
The scope of this investigation incorporates all tiers of government in Nigeria-The federal, state, local government and the MDA's. They all have need for a guide on public procurement; the researchers were able to administer questionnaires and elicited responses from 3 MDA's operating at the federal capital territory, Abuja-Nigeria.

Conceptual framework
It's been observed that periodically the universal public procurement certification council (UPPCC) commissions a Job analysis study to ensure that certification exams are aligned with the skills, knowledge and abilities needed for successful job performance in the public procurement profession. A Body of Knowledge is the end result of the Job Analysis Study.. According to the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPC-2013), and Project Management Body of knowledge (PMBOK,, 2015, ) there are about six domains that could possibly constitute a body of knowledge on public procurement. These include: 1. Procurement Administration 2. Sourcing 3. The negotiation process 4. Contract Administration 5. Supply management and 6. Strategic procurement planning Individuals as well as practitioners can make meaningful contribution to knowledge by using different approaches to solving an identified problem. New models, conceptual frameworks/concepts and hypotheses that are valid and result oriented will definitely add to existing knowledge on a subject matter. The above domains and the associated tasks /responsibilities are highlighted below. Public procurement practitioners in Nigeria can as well take a clue from this and appropriate or modify it to suit their purpose.

The various domains are briefly reviewed below:
2.2.1 Procurement Administration. This will include common procurement performance measures. It will consist of procurement systems, solicitation and contract files .Others are cooperative procurement programs, value analysis, procurement audit and review processes, procurement programs and initiatives., procurement policies and procedures, Budgeting methods , team dynamics and personnel management The associated tasks inherent in procurement administration are to design and maintain operational forms and templates, automated procurement system and a standardization process.

Sourcing of raw materials.
This will consist of: •

The Tasks/Responsibilities associated with the sourcing of raw materials includes:
1. Use of an in-house automated process 2. Use of an e-procurement format 3. Guarantee consistence with supplier diversity 4. Undertake a market survey to ensure that procurement requests are consistent with set up laws, approaches, and systems 5. Undertake market surveys to ascertain the utilization of services 6. Make suggestions on requests or issues bothering on lease or buy decisions 7 .Obtain data or information for decision making 8. Examine financial conditions influencing procurements 9. Recognize the sources of services and/or supplies 10. Select the techniques of procurement. 11. Develop sales report. 12. Audit requesting record (e.g., reliable language, no clashing necessities) 13. Select agreement type (e.g., cover request, term contracts) 14. Uphold and promote the mission, vision, and values of the procurement department (e.g., ethics, diversity, professionalism, accountability) • Conduct value analysis (e.g., cost-reduction, cost avoidance, total cost of ownership) • Implement goals, objectives, and measurement criteria for procurement department • Monitor professional and legislative trends and laws (e.g., rules, regulations, executive orders) • Analyze economic trends and conditions that affect procurement • Conduct cost/benefit analyses on future acquisitions • Implement a process improvement plan (e.g., stakeholder satisfaction, remediation) • Plan and implement procurement strategies and objectives based on forecast data, market factors, economic trends, and customer needs (e.g., strategic sourcing, staffing) • Formulate a procurement contingency/continuity of operations plan (e.g., disaster preparedness, supply chain) The above array of knowledge areas and their associated tasks and responsibilities are just a sample of what a body of knowledge on public procurement should comprise of. It is now left for Public procurement practitioner's to take a clue from this and modify it to suit the Nigerian purpose. This is on the premise that, we all agree that there is need to articulate a body of knowledge on public procurement practices in Nigeria. Other issues that need be embedded in the said document should include: • The Act Establishing the Bureau of public procurement

Research Design
The study adopted a survey research design -Primary data was used in the study The researchers made use of open ended questionnaires to elicit response from the respondents on subject matter The population consists of procurement staff in some select MDA's that have functional procurement departments at the federal capital territory (FCT) , Abuja-Nigeria

Section A 4.2.1: Analysis of Respondent's Bio Data.
The bio data of our respondents are reviewed below. This includes the sex, age bracket, educational qualification and period of stay at the MDA. The essence is to showcase the distribution of questionnaires. Table 1 gives the sex distribution of the respondents that were used as our sample size. It shows that there are 17 males and 3 females' i.e. 85 % of the respondents are males while the balances of 15 % are females. The distribution is tilted more to the males than females.   (20) percent of the population hold a masters degree or above qualification. This indicates that the respondents are quite knowledgeable.  (10) years. This is justifiable as a mandatory procurement department is a relatively new phenomenon in the Nigerian public sector.

Extract of response from the respondents.
For the three (3) MDA's visited to administer the questionnaires; the numbers of staff are in the neighborhood of a 100 staff.

2.
Do you have public procurement department in your MDA? . Extract of response from the respondents. The MDA's that constitute our population of study all have an operational procurement unit.
3. State the number of staff working in the procurement unit: Extract of response from the respondents. For the three (3) MDA's visited; the number of staff working in their procurement units is about 21 4. State the number of staff working in the procurement unit that has been trained… Extract of response from the respondents. All the 21 staff in the MDA's that constitute our study group has been trained.

Have you received any procurement training?
Between 30 -35years  5  25   Between 36-45 years  13  65   Above 50  2  10  Total  20  100 Yes ( ), No ( ) Extract of response from the respondents. The respondents affirmed that they have received one form of training program or the other on public procurement. Some of the training programs were done in-house while others were at the Bureau of public enterprises.
6. Do you have a Body of knowledge that you consult when processing procurement in your office?
Yes ( ), No ( ) Extract of response from the respondents All the respondents affirmed that, they do not have a one stop body of knowledge that they consult in course of carrying out their job functions and duties. However, they have pockets of guidelines from different handbooks that they consult in course of processing procurement in their respective offices.

7.
If no, please give the title of the pockets of guidelines from different handbooks that you consult in course of processing procurements ……. Extract of response from the respondents The respondents listed the following handbooks and manuals: v The public procurement Act 2007 as well as the amended version.
The above response is a proof of hypothesis (1).We rejects the null hypothesis which states that: An acceptable body of knowledge on public procurement practice does not exist in Nigeria. Some materials exist but not as a one stop body of knowledge that practitioners can consult in course of carrying out their assignments.
8. If no, do you think a body of knowledge will facilitate your job function? Yes ( ), No ( ) Extract of response from the respondents The respondents opined that a one stop body of knowledge will facilitate their job functions.

9.
As a public procurement practitioner, list all the documents you use when processing procurements:

Extract of response from the respondents
The respondents listed the following documents that they use when processing procurements: • The public procurement Act 2007 as well as the amended version. All the respondents disagreed with the above assertion. In other words they affirmed that a body of knowledge will be beneficial to the government, contractors and to the citizenry. It will also be beneficial to procurement officers and to the politicians. They all constitute the stakeholders. This is a proof of hypothesis 2. We reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate, which states that there is need for an acceptable body of knowledge on public procurement practice in Nigeria.

11.
What problems do you envisage that public procurement practitioners will encounter while trying to establish/ implement a body of knowledge on public procurement in Nigeria?

Extract of response from the respondents
The respondents opined that: 1) The Nigerian population is yet to know and appreciate the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA; 2007), talk less of reeling out a more complex set of rules on public procurement that will be embodied in a body of knowledge.
2) The frosty working relationship between ministries and the parastatals that work under them is a challenge in guaranteeing good public procurement process. Most MDA's are hostile to moves aimed at implementing the public procurement act. They will stop at nothing in sabotaging or kicking against the establishing a body of knowledge on public procurement. 3) Some states are yet to pass or institutionalize the provisions of the public procurement act. This invariably will affect the efforts aimed at establishing a body of knowledge on public procurement. The support of all tiers of government is needed for the public procurement act to succeed. 4) The above answers constitute a proof of Hypothesis 3.We reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate which states that there will be hitches or problems trying to establish an acceptable, one stop body of knowledge on public procurement in Nigeria, but the problem is surmountable. Public procurement as a profession will be better off for it.

Summary.
The main findings of this study are summarized below: • For the three (3) MDA's visited to administer the questionnaires, the numbers of staff are in the neighborhood of about 100.

•
The MDA's that constitute our population of study all have functional procurement units. All staff working in the MDA's that constitute our population of study have been trained.

•
The respondents affirmed that they have received one form of training program or the other on public procurement. Some of the training sessions were in-house, while in others were done at the Bureau of public procurement.

•
The respondents affirmed that, they do not have a one stop body of knowledge that they consult in course of carrying out their duties. However, they have pockets of guidelines from different handbooks that they consult in course of processing procurement in their respective offices. These include the public procurement Act 2007 as well as its amended version, the Public procurement Manual and Bid documents. Others include circulars, Evaluation form, Evaluation report, Contract Agreement, Award of contract letters and Job completion certificate.

•
The respondents opined that a one stop body of knowledge will facilitate their job functions. It will be beneficial to the government, contractors and to citizens alike i.e. the stake holders. It will also be beneficial to the procurement officers as well to the politicians...

•
The respondents articulated the following as likely problems that will arise while trying to adopt a body of knowledge on public procurement: • The Nigerian population is yet to appreciate the provisions of the public procurement Act 2007 and its amended version, talk less of reeling out a set of rules on public procurement that will be embodied in the body of knowledge.

•
The frosty working relationship between ministries and the parastatals under them is a challenge in guaranteeing good public procurement process. Most MDA's are hostile to moves aimed at implementing the public procurement act. They will stop at nothing in sabotaging or kicking against the establishing a body of knowledge on public procurement. Some states are yet to institutionalize the provisions of the public procurement act. This invariably will affect the efforts aimed at establishing a body of knowledge on public procurement. The support of all tiers of government is needed for the public procurement act to succeed.

Conclusion
The Due Process Mechanism as a model application of "Best Practice" in procurement system has become a key reform agenda in the management of public finance. It ensures that requisite standards are maintained, while transparency, accountability and the elimination of wastes are guaranteed in contrast to the old procurement system that was not integritydriven. By its introduction, appropriate level of respect for rules, regulations and procedures relating to the management of public funds are institutionalized. As it were, one level of success leads to another level of challenges. With the introduction of due process and the enactment of the public procurement ACT, it has become obvious that, the nation is on the right track to getting it right on procurement related matters., which hitherto had been a source of drain on the economy. In line with the procurement process, it has become necessary to train and retrain the procurement officers and one of the veritable tools in this direction will be the establishment of a body of knowledge on public procurement practice. If this is properly articulated and harnessed, it will entail process flows, skills, tools, and procedures that are needed to practice the trade. This is bound to impact positively on the procurement process.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of study and the conclusions drawn therein, it has become very obvious that there is no one document that could be referred to as comprehensive guide or manual on public procurement practice in Nigeria. In other words, there is no one stop body of knowledge. There is need to establish one as it will make for good practice and will facilitate the job process, flow and functions.
Yes ( ) No ( ) 9. As a public procurement practitioner, list all the documents you use when processing procurements. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10. If a body of knowledge on public procurement in Nigeria will provide a one stop shop for most of the knowledge you require for the practice, do you think it will be beneficial to the following? Tick all that applies. o Contractors o Government o Citizens o Procurement officers o Politicians. 11. What are the problems that will be encountered while trying to establish a body of knowledge on public procurement in Nigeria?