By Polycarp Auta 

Due process, transparency and accountability are key components of a every successful government, wether at the federal, state or local government levels.

Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, since he assumed office, emphasised that transparency and accountability would play a crucial role in his administration.

Sadly, the governor's pledge seems to be a mere wish, as his promise is to be far from the current situation in the state.

One cannot speak of accountability and transparency, particularly in executing key capital projects without due process.

To pave way for due process in government's dealings, the Plateau state government in December 2015, through the House of Assembly, enacted a law establishing the Bureau of Public Procurement for the state.

In February 2017, the state government appointed Mr Peter Dogo as the pioneer Director General of the bureau. The appointment gave teeth to the very crucial government organisation.

However, in 2023 Dogo retired from service and since then the bureau had no substantive director general heading it.

What we currently have at the head of the bureau is the Director of Administration, a civil servant, who is on acting capacity.

Some Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs) working in the state had decried that the current situation doesn't promote transparency and accountability in government dealings.

Some analysts, who also agree with the position of the NGOs, worried over the inability of the bureau to perform its function optimally due to lack of substantive leadership.

For instance, Mr Mantim Dala, the Coordinator of the Rule of Law and Accountability (RoLAC) project in Plateau state, said that the lack of a substantive head at the bureau would naturally affect the execution of capital projects in the state.

"The current arrangement negates the law establishing the Bureau and doesn't give way for due process in the execution of government projects.

"Without a substantive head, the bureau lacks the wherewithal to function optimally.

"Aside that, the bureau doesn't have a functional vehicle to monitor projects, it is under staff and doesn't have a conducive office accommodation.

"Therefore, it simply means that it is as good as not functional,"he said.

Also, Mr Jacob Pwakim, the Executive Director, Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse (YHAVHA), accused the state government of throwing due process to the dust.

He categorically said that most of the ongoing projects in the state were neither advertised nor bidded for before the contracts were awarded.

He particularly cited the project for the ultra- modern complex for the state's Ministry of Justice  worth N6 billion, as an example of the projects that due process not followed.

"As an organisation, we have submitted an FOI to the state government, to furnish us with information regarding the justice ministry project and how the contract was awarded.

"We also have information that a lot of other ongoing projects in the state were bidded for, meaning due process was not followed.

"We will continue to engage the government to ensure that every public fund is adequately accounted for,"he said 

But Gov. Mutfwang during an interaction with journalist in the app state, promised to appoint a substantive director general for the bureau.

He, however, explained that majority of the ongoing projects are largely abandoned projects, not new ones.

"Most of the projects we are doing are not new, we inherited them from our predecessors and it naturally means that due diligence was done before they started them in the first place. 

"Also, some of these projects are in collaboration with other international organisations and as we all know these organisations don't don't joke with due process,"the governor said.

The governor insisted that his administration would continue to abide by the rule of law due process in all its dealings.