The 2025 Report of the Ondo State Auditor-General has raised concerns over weaknesses in the state's procurement system, warning that the discontinuation of its electronic benchmarking platform has exposed public procurement to fraud, bid-rigging, contract manipulation and other governance risks.
According to the audit report, the suspension of the e-Benchmarking Solution following the non-renewal of its annual licence has reversed gains previously made in promoting transparency, accountability and efficiency in the procurement process.
The report observed that the return to manual procurement procedures has significantly weakened monitoring and control mechanisms that were embedded in the electronic procurement platform.
It stated: "Audit observed that the discontinuation of the e-Benchmarking Solution following the non-renewal of its annual licence has weakened the transparency, accountability, efficiency, monitoring, and control mechanisms previously embedded in the electronic procurement process."
The Auditor-General noted that the reversion to manual procurement procedures exposed the state's procurement system to several operational, financial, compliance and governance risks.
