Nigeria To Implement OCDS In It’s Major Projects

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday in London, during the anti-corruption summit hosted by the British Prime Minister David Cameron, said that in the prolongation of his administration’s war against corruption, Nigeria would soon begin the full implementation of the principles of Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS).

During the summit, he stated that OCDS would be applied to major projects in the oil, transportation, power, health, education and other sectors.

The OCDS enables disclosure of data and documents at all stages of the contracting process by defining a common data model.

The publication of OCDS ensures greater transparency in public contracting, and can support accessible and in-depth analysis of the efficiency, effectiveness, fairness, and integrity of public contracting systems.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari as saying that his administration was also taking steps to ensure greater transparency of the ownership and control of all companies involved in property purchase and public contracting.

“Nigeria has already collated this information through the extractive industry initiative process and will extend it to other sectors.

“Nigeria will establish a transparent central register of foreign companies bidding for public contracts and buying property. We welcome the proposal by developed countries to work together to improve the access of developing countries to beneficial ownership information for use in public contracting,” the president said.

In order to stop further theft of Nigeria’s oil, Buhari appealed to the international community to urgently create an anti-corruption infrastructure.

Buhari said that new measures against corruption that would be adopted by the summit should also include mechanisms that would assist countries like Nigeria to combat illegal activities such as crude oil theft. He also sought the creation of a strategic action plan to facilitate the speedy recovery and repatriation of stolen funds hidden in secret bank accounts abroad.

He said:‎ “When it comes to tackling corruption, the international community, has unfortunately looked away for too long. We need to step up and tackle this evil together. That is why we have gathered here today.

“Corruption creates a system where resources are shared by a small elite while the majority wallows in poverty. Corruption also undermines the ability of countries to finance development.

“I recall in this regard, the landmark Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the 3rd International Conference on Finance for Development held in January this year.

“A prominent feature of that global framework was the recognition that good governance and measures to combat corruption and curb illicit financial flows will be integral to the effort to attain sustainable development globally by the year 2050.

“It is for this reason that my government is determined to address illicit financial outflows which have served as a major impediment to progress in our country.

“I wish to reiterate our demand that the global community must come up with mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for stolen funds and facilitate the return of stolen assets to their countries of origin.”

In his opening remarks at the summit, Cameron applauded Buhari’s vigorous efforts to curb corruption in Nigeria.

Other speakers at the opening session included the President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, and the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry.