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Stakeholders Reject Amendment Of Public Procurement Act

Published

4 months ago

December 2, 2024

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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Senator Manu donates five operational vehicles to Taraba PDP(Photos)

Published

15 minutes ago

April 14, 2025

ADMIN

…hails emergence of Bawa as state chairman

The Senator representing Taraba Central Senatorial District Senator Manu Haruna on Sunday donated five operational vehicles to Taraba Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to enhance its operations.

Manu also seized the opportunity to congratulate the state Chairman, Hon Abubakar Bawa when he visited the secretariat in Jalingo last Sunday.

The former State Deputy Governor expressed his congratulations to Chairman Bawa and the state working committee for their election, emphasizing the importance of unity and progress within the party. He commended their commitment to strengthening the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State.

In a generous move to enhance the operational capacity of the party at the grassroots level, Senator Manu donated five vehicles — one for each Local Government Area (LGA) party chapter in Taraba Central.

This donation is intended to facilitate better coordination and outreach efforts within the party.

Senator Manu praised Hon. Abubakar Bawa for his dedicated efforts to elevate the PDP in the state, asserting that Taraba will always remain a stronghold for the party.

In response, State Party Chairman Alhaji Bawa expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Senator Manu for his thoughtful visit and generous donation. He acknowledged the impact of such contributions on the party’s progress and reemphasized the commitment of the PDP to serve the interests of the people in Taraba State.

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Justice Minister, Fagbemi seeks support for govt’s national law reform initiative

Published

3 hours ago

April 14, 2025

ADMIN

By Francesca Hangeior

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has canvassed for greater efforts and commitments to the Federal Government’s aspirations to produce a workable legal framework for the country.

He charged the Committee put in place by the federal government to review, revise and consolidate the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, LFN, to double the efforts and commitments to deliver on the mandate at the appointed time.

Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, spoke on Monday in Abuja at the second retreat of the Committee put in place in October last year for the laws of the federation revision and reform.

The AGF while challenging the committee to be up and doing asked the members to remain united in purpose and steadfast in the resolve to produce a legal framework that is worthy of the nation’s aspirations.

He said the second retreat organized by the federal government was a strategic consolidation of the national law reform efforts and to provide an invaluable opportunity to come up with a better workable legal framework for the nation.

“Let me start by expressing gratitude to the Chairman, Co-Chairperson and members of the Committee for their selfless service and sacrifice, to ensure that this project is executed efficiently and effectively.

“The call to be part of this assignment is indeed a sacred that inevitably and positively affects the lives of individuals, government, businesses as well as citizens of this nation.

“The general purpose of law is to regulate human behavior by protecting lives and properties in society. The inauguration of the Committee on the 24th October, 2024 marked a historic milestone in our collective efforts to modernize, consolidate, and harmonize Nigeria’s body of federal statutes.

“The retreat successfully provides a clear framework for the structure and methodology of the revision exercise, oriented the 14 Working Groups tasked with reviewing specific legal subject areas, and fostered collaboration among key institutions and stakeholders on the project.

“Following the initial retreat, I wish to note that the Committee has recorded steady progress in its work.

“The Ministry has taken several measures to ensure that the assignment is delivered efficiently, including:training sessions for secretaries of the working groups to enhance documentation and coordination; technical meetings of the main committee and its various sub-committees; working sessions and deliberations among editors and reviewers; and ongoing technical collation of revised laws by the Secretariat.

“This second retreat is a strategic consolidation of our national law reform efforts and provides an invaluable opportunity to: review progress made since the first phase;
address any technical or structural challenges encountered during the collation process;
– Harmonize the output across working groups; and set the tone for the final stages of this important project.

“The next stage of the law review and consolidation process would include editing and proofreading the reviewed legislation, ahead of the final collation, production and printing of the laws of the federation.

“It is my conviction that these phases will be executed with even greater commitment by the Committee, with the support of stakeholders and development partners.

“I wish to commend the leadership of the LFN Committee, the Secretariat for its diligent coordination and day-to-day management as well as the Working Groups, Editors, and Reviewers, for their intellectual rigour and professionalism.

“Special gratitude to our development partners, particularly RoLAC, for standing firmly behind this national project.

“Let me urge all participants to use this retreat as a platform for robust engagement, peer learning, and practical collaboration.

“We must remain united in purpose and steadfast in our resolve to produce a legal framework that is worthy of our nation’s aspirations.

” I wish to express gratitude for your commitment to duty and I charge you to work in synergy and cooperation, in the overall interest of the nation”, the AGF said.

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You must refund N300m, Rivers State tells NBA

Published

6 hours ago

April 14, 2025

ADMIN

The Rivers State Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), has replied to the Nigerian Bar Association regarding the reason for relocating its Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu State.

Ibas faulted the reason cited by the NBA, describing it as misleading and uncharitable.

The Sole Administrator stated this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday by his media aide, Hector Igbikiowubo, and sent to newsmen.

He said while the NBA reserves the right to choose a venue for its conference, the association had yet to address the issue of the refund of the hosting rights paid by the state government for the conference.

The statement partly reads, “While we respect the NBA’s right to choose its conference venues, we find it curious that the association—despite its “principled position”— didn’t address the refund of the N300 million already paid by the Rivers State Government for the hosting rights of the 2025 conference.

“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits.”

It added, “The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to the Nigeria Bar Association’s announcement dated 10th April 2025, relocating its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu.

“If the NBA truly stands on principle, it should demonstrate the same integrity by promptly returning these funds rather than benefiting from a state it now publicly discredits.”