TheCable

The Network for the actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a public procurement group, has commended the federal government over plans to review the public procurement act. 

On Friday, the federal government announced that Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, will lead the committee set up to review the 2007 Public Procurement Act.

The committee has one month to complete the assignment.

In a statement signed by Akingunola Omoniyi, its head of office, NEFGAD said President Bola Tinubu has again demonstrated courage and tact in tackling one of the most vicious enemies of the country’s growth and development.

“The current public procurement Act enacted about 15 years ago is due for review in line with global best practices and changing operational dynamics in the public contracting sector,” the statement reads.

The group lamented that public procurement in Nigeria has become an “anything goes” affair, while adding that in its current form, the act encourages illegality.

“The Act as it stands has been so bastardised to such an extent that restricted/selective tendering is now a norm rather than exception, with more than 70 percent of procurement proceedings being initiated and concluded in the bedrooms of a privileged few, on whom the Act placed so much supervisory and regulatory responsibilities,” the statement added.

“The implication of this dastardly act is that 70 percent of the contract sum ended up under the same bedroom through which the procurement proceedings emanated as against solving critical national developmental problems.

“One of the major contributing factors for the bastardisation of the procurement system in the country is that successive governments are in the habit of enforcing the procurement Act in breach by the non-constitution of the national procurement council, and appointing Director Generals for the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), through the back door of non-competitive selection.”

The group advised Tinubu not to consider the distractive proposals of “some people who intend to make the president head of the national procurement council”, saying presidents “all over the world only sit to discuss policies and programmes”.

On the committee to review the act are the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy; minister of budget and economic planning; director-general, bureau of public procurement; representative of the World Bank; Messrs KPMG Nigeria as technical consultants; permanent secretary and cabinet affairs office as member/secretary.