By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Gabriel Ewepu
ABUJA — The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has launched the National Guidelines for Public Food Procurement and Related Services for public institutions, including correctional centres, schools and hospitals.
Director-General of the BPP, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, who unveiled the guidelines in Abuja on Monday, warned that suppliers of substandard food items would face strict sanctions.
Adedokun said the guidelines marked a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public procurement reform efforts, aimed at ensuring that public spending on food delivers value for money while promoting nutrition, food safety, public health and economic growth.
“They reflect our collective determination to ensure that every public expenditure on food contributes not only to value for money but also to nutrition, public health, food safety, human capital development and economic growth,” he said.
According to him, the policy would support the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and create more opportunities for women to participate in food procurement by meeting the required standards.
The BPP boss said the guidelines were developed in collaboration with relevant ministries, agencies and stakeholders responsible for food management to ensure compliance with minimum eligibility requirements.
He explained that food suppliers to unity schools, healthcare institutions and correctional centres would now be required to meet specified standards before being considered for contracts.
“What we are doing is to ensure that the food supplied to our children in schools and to inmates in correctional centres meets minimum health requirements,” he said.
Adedokun said the guidelines would end the practice of procuring food items without adequate quality control and standard requirements.
“They can no longer procure in a manner that does not meet the required qualification standards. This policy is designed to correct the anomalies of the past, where food was procured from all and sundry without any baseline standards,” he added.
He warned that suppliers who provide food harmful to citizens would face legal consequences.
“Sanctions will be meted out to anybody who supplies substandard food to our children. We are ready to enforce this policy and expect all participants and procurement officers to use it in preparing bidding documents,” he said.
Adedokun added that the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of ensuring that children and youths have access to nutritious meals.
In his keynote address, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Iziaq Salako, expressed optimism that the guidelines would help address some health challenges facing Nigerians.
He stressed the need for effective implementation across relevant institutions within the food ecosystem to protect public health.
Also speaking, Executive Director of the Nigerian Heart Foundation, Dr. Kingsley Akinroye, described the guidelines as a major step towards improving food safety and nutrition standards in public institutions.
Akinroye said the framework would ensure that food procurement, preparation and service in schools, hospitals, correctional centres and other public institutions align with evidence-based nutrition standards.
He noted that unhealthy dietary practices contribute significantly to the rising burden of non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes.
According to him, the new guidelines provide a timely response to the absence of a comprehensive national framework for healthy public food procurement in Nigeria.
