President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) that from the 2015 financial year any contractor not in its database should not be allowed to do contract business of any sort with the Federal Government.
The President made this known on Monday in Abuja, when he declared open the first National Conference on Public Procurement (NACOPP), with the theme “Public Procurement: A tool for Good Governance.”
The President’s directive followed BPP’s categorisation and classification of Federal Contractors and service providers into equal competences and capacity for bidding purposes.
Speaking through the Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, the President also said that any company debarred by the World Bank, Africa Development Bank and UNDP, as well as other development partners stands automatically debarred from contracting processes in Nigeria.
“This action is intended to eliminate distortions in bidding costs that tend to create the impression that project costs in Nigeria are higher than in other countries,” he said.
President Jonathan, who noted that reforms in the procurement process had yielded positive results on the economy, said “being a good governance tool, procurement reform has enhanced the activities of other agencies of government.”
He also revealed that as a first in the World “Nigeria is setting up the first International Procurement Platform to facilitate an interface between a regulatory authority and procuring entities and service providers.”
President Jonathan, while reaffirming his commitment to further strengthen the BPP, commended the 24 states that have passed procurement laws, charging the remaining 12 to urgently follow suit, while also urging all the States to give adequate protection to the regulatory agencies to effectively discharge their duties.
“It is important to reiterate that Nigeria runs one economy and therefore the need for one set of rules governing our contracting processes cannot be over emphasised.
All States that are yet to pass the law are urged to pass them while those that have passed the law are urged to strengthen them in order to ensure delivery of services at best cost to the people,” the President said.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the BPP was an important agency of government, adding that it was a tool for fiscal saving and transparency. She called on stakeholders to support the Bureau in the discharge of its mandate.
Also in his own address, the Director-General of the BPP, Dr. Emeka Eze, said the Conference was intended to bring all states of the federation to subscribe to one set of National procedure in public procurement.
Dr. Eze said that as part of its mandate to reduce the scope of corruption and improve efficiency in the system, the Bureau from year 2009 to date had saved the country over N528 billion in project reviews. He also disclosed that the BPP had recommended over 180 companies to the ICPC and the EFCC for investigation on fraudulent activities.
The Public Procurement Act was enacted in 2007, establishing the BPP. The BPP is charged with the responsibility to amongst others provide legal and institutional framework and professional capacity for public procurement in Nigeria.
The 1st National Conference on Public Procurement is holding in Abuja from November, 10-11, 2014. The conference is hosted by the National Public Procurement Forum (NPPF) and being implemented by the National Planning Committee and supported by the BPP.
