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Stakeholders Reject Amendment Of Public Procurement Act

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2 years ago

December 2, 2024

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By Gloria Ikibah

Stakeholders in the public procurement sector have rejected amendment of the public procurement Act which seeks to punish contractors for unnecessarily delaying the completion, or abandoning projects awarded to them.

Director General of the Bureau for Public Procurement, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun and the immediate past Director General of the agency, Emeka Ezeh both stated this at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement on Monday in Abuja.

The duo said that there was no need to amend the law to punish contractors as such provisions are always contained in the contract.

According to Adedokun, the Public Procurement Act, 2007 harmonized the existing Government policies and practices by regulating, setting standards and developing the legal framework for Public Procurement in Nigeria to give room for competition and transparency.

He said: “The intending amendment seeks to sanction contractors who delay in completion of contract within a stipulated time. This sanction globally is generally included in the conditions of contract and it is outside the intendment of the PPA.

“The Public Procurement Act does not regulate contract implementation rather the standard condition of contract and contract of agreement regulates whatever transpires after a validly awarded contract.

“In this regard, the clauses In the contract agreement prescribing sanctions for contractors as Included in the Bureau’s Standard Bidding Documents should suffice. Therefore, the proposal to incorporate contract implementation procedures into the Public Procurement Act is overbearing and will negate the intentions of its establishment.

“The Bureau, as the regulatory body and by the powers conferred on it by the Act, has issued Standard Bidding Documents and Standard Conditions of Contract, which are of global standards and have already catered penalty for erring contractors.

“The Bureau, therefore recommends that the Committee should rather help in the proper implementation and enforcement of the existing laws by ensuring that funds for contracts awarded should be provided as and when due. This is because the solution the amendment intends to provide is not a matter of law but rather of implementations, as a procuring entity who fails to release funds to a contractor for timely completion of a project, will be guilty of the contractor’s delay in completion of the project.

“In view of the above, the Bureau respectfully request the committee to reconsider the amendment and seeks for the Parliament’s support for proper implementation of the Public Procurement Act to enhance efficiency in the public Procurement space in Nigeria”.

The immediate past Director-General of BPP, Emeka Ezeh also argued that though the intention of the proposed amendment seems noble, but focuses on addressing an effect rather than the cause of an obvious challenge in our contracting environment.

He said: “I will rather advise that the challenge be seen from a holistic picture Starting from needs assessment to projects design/preparation/projects scoping through adequate budgetary provision to procurement process (selection of contractor) to contract execution( project implementation).

“The proposed amendment tends to focus on the last leg of the project delivery chain which is a contract management issue not usually covered by public procurement legislation. However, a project can be compromised at any of the stages leading to delay in completion.

“For instance, if a need is not well articulated, the solution provided by the project could lead to the risk of abandonment or if the design was not competently done or due to time constraint detailed feasibility/engineering designs were not done, at the stage of implementation, issues of variations/augmentations could arise.

“In the same vein, if during procurement, an incompetent contractor is selected due to abuse in the application of relevant guidelines, the project is destined to be at risk of delays.

“Again, even if there were no risks up to contract award which is what the proposed amendment assumes, a project could be delayed due to nonpayment as and when due or due to new government fiscal policies that could impact on the cost of the project.

“The delays in adjusting the contract sum to align with such policies could pose a risk to the project.

“More importantly, the ill the amendment intends to cure is adequately contained as a standard provision in our standard conditions of contract. For every major project, this is part of the conditions of contract.

“Any engineer or Quantity Surveyor or Architect worth his certificate knows this as a matter of fact. Professionally, it is called “liquidated damage” —which is a penalty imposed on a contractor subject to a maximum of 5%, usually for delay in completing a part or all of a project in line with the program of work except if the delay is due to force majeure or an extension of time duly granted by the employer through the engineer”.

Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Unyime Idem said one mischief that has plagued the public procurement space in the country is the practice by contractors to delay projections unduly, intentionally, and without any fear of sanctions, and that this mischief is driven by a number of factors, including incompetence of the contractors, non – prioritization of Federal Government projects, intention to apply for price variation, bad faith, compromise, absence of patriotism, economic sabotage, corruption, among others.

He said members of the House have studied the difference in culture and approach in other jurisdictions when it comes to the issue of executing government projects, citing Egypt where contractors are required to work both day and night and all through the week as an example.

According to him, through that practice, project time is reduced by about 50 percent to 60 percent, and a project that should ordinarily take 24 months may take 12 months or less, while in Nigeria, a project that should take 12 months may take a minimum of 5 to 6 years, with the chances of such projects being abandoned standing at about 70 percent to 75 percent.

In addition, he said over 90 percent of capital projects are eventually subjected to requests for variation, which in part is driven by the issue of delay and poor project management that results in increased costs, driven by factors like inflation and devaluation.

“While a contractor may argue that inflation and devaluation may impact its costs, it is expected that each contractor must have shown enough financial capacity, which would have contributed to the award of the contract. It is therefore expected that the contractor should deploy the best project management practice by purchasing materials upfront and locking down prices, if possible.

“I must also add that this culture of project delays preceded the current problem of inflation and devaluation. Hence, it is a problem that we now must address from a legislative perspective.

“The instant problem impacts governance in Nigeria and has affected our ability to deliver the dividends of democracy to the Nigerian people. We as legislators engage with our constituents, who are at the grassroots level, and when we are confronted with the issue of delayed and/or abandoned projects, we struggle to find answers and explanations”, he added.

Related Topics:abandoned chairman Nigeria Nigerian Stakeholders

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Reaction as portal shows NDC candidate’s picture, opponent name

Published

4 hours ago

August 6, 2026

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A leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Chief Whip of the Senate, Sir. Rowland Owie, has expressed dissatisfaction over the change of the name of the party’s candidate for the Edo South senatorial district in the 2027 general election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission portal had the picture of Sunny Aguebor as the senatorial candidate while it had the name Epelle-Asemota Bridgitte Osayuki as the candidate.

Reacting to the development in a telephone interview, Owie said Aguebor emerged as the candidate of the party in a primary election monitored by the INEC and alleged that a national officer of the party may be responsible for the current development.

Owie declared the development as fraud that would not stand, noting that Aguebor is the Edo South Senatorial candidate.

He said, “The truth is fraud cannot stand. The duly nominated candidate for Edo South NDC is Sunny Aguebor.

His primary election was monitored by the INEC and we have the CTC of his nomination from INEC.

“The party uploaded the information to INEC portal. What they were trying to do is to put that lady’s name but they couldn’t remove Aguebor’s picture.

“Whoever did it is a criminal, it is because we want peace in the party otherwise such a person should have been arrested. It is a criminal act. The NDC is a corrective party, we can’t be part of fraud.

“We have written to the INEC to make the necessary corrections. The person behind the fraud is a leader in the South South and we can get him arrested for forgery.”

When contacted, the state chairman of the party, David Olukoga said the party was still working with the INEC over the issue.

“Those are social media issues, when we are ready, we will publish our lists, we are not done with INEC, when we are done, they will give us our list and we will publish them,” he added.

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Attacks: Kebbi gov convenes emergency security meeting

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4 hours ago

August 6, 2026

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Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, on Wednesday convened an emergency security meeting to review the security situation in the state and strengthen measures aimed at addressing emerging security challenges in some communities.

The meeting, which brought together key security stakeholders, focused on reviewing and reinforcing existing security strategies to ensure a more coordinated and effective response to threats across the state.

Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Internal Security, Haliru Wasagu, said the governor called the meeting as part of his administration’s commitment to protecting lives and property and sustaining peace across Kebbi State.

According to Wasagu, the discussions centred on fine-tuning the state’s security architecture and enhancing collaboration among security agencies to improve operational effectiveness.

“Our governor is fully committed to flushing out criminal elements and dismantling their hideouts. Anyone found engaging in criminal activities will face the full weight of the law,” the commissioner said.

He added that Idris had continued to intensify efforts to maintain peace, law and order, assuring residents that the government would not relent in confronting all forms of criminality.

Wasagu also appealed to residents to support security agencies by providing timely and credible intelligence capable of aiding the identification, arrest and prosecution of criminal elements.

“If members of the public remain vigilant and work closely with security agencies, the fight against crime will be more effective,” he said.

The commissioner further commended security personnel operating in the state for their dedication, professionalism and sacrifices in ensuring peace, stability and public safety, assuring that the state government would continue to support their operations.

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Kano nabs fake health workers running illegal outreach

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4 hours ago

August 6, 2026

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The Kano State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Private Health Institutions Management Agency, the Kano State Centre for Disease Control, and the Kano State Police Command, has arrested some suspects allegedly conducting an illegal medical outreach in Panshekara, Kumbotso Local Government Area, as part of ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of residents.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Nabilusi Abubakar, confirmed the arrest of the suspects in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the arrest of the suspects followed credible intelligence received from vigilant members of the public regarding the unauthorised medical activity.

“We acted immediately upon receiving the report. A joint team from the Ministry of Health, PHIMA, and KNCDC was deployed to the location, leading to the arrest of the suspects.

“We subsequently contacted the Kano State Police Command, and the suspects are currently in police custody at the Bompai Headquarters for further investigation,” the Commissioner for Health, Abubakar Yusuf, was quoted as saying.

Yusuf explained that the suspects were found operating under the name Brother Paul Legacy Foundation, a purported non-governmental organisation, where they were distributing registration cards bearing the organisation’s name and collecting money from unsuspecting members of the public under the guise of providing medical services.

He further revealed that preliminary investigations conducted by officials of the Ministry of Health, PHIMA, and KNCDC established that the mastermind and the other suspects were neither qualified health professionals nor possessed any recognised health-related certification.

According to the commissioner, the registration cards issued by the suspects, which bear an address in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, falsely promised “free treatment” in an apparent attempt to lure unsuspecting victims into the illegal operation.

Yusuf urged residents to remain vigilant and refrain from patronising unlicensed individuals or self-acclaimed healthcare providers, emphasising that medical services should only be sought from government-approved health facilities and duly licensed healthcare professionals.

He also commended the state police command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Bakori, and his officers for their decisive intervention.

He further commended the public-spirited individuals whose timely report led to the arrest of the suspects, describing their action as a demonstration of the vital role citizens play in safeguarding public health.

The commissioner called on members of the public to promptly report any suspicious or illegal medical activities to the appropriate authorities, reaffirming the Kano State Government’s unwavering commitment to eliminating quackery, protecting lives, and ensuring that healthcare services across the state remain safe, ethical, and professionally regulated.