{"id":2500,"date":"2013-04-21T21:43:24","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T21:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/n420b-saved-from-contract-vetting-says-bpp\/"},"modified":"2013-04-21T21:43:24","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T21:43:24","slug":"n420b-saved-from-contract-vetting-says-bpp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/n420b-saved-from-contract-vetting-says-bpp\/","title":{"rendered":"N420b saved from contract vetting, says BPP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has saved N420B for the Federal Government in the last 15 months through the vetting of contracts of Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Mr Emeka Ezeh, the Director-General of the agency disclosed this on Sunday at the closing ceremony of a three-day retreat for Chief Executive Officers of Federal Government-owned Departments and Agencies.<\/p>\n

The three-day retreat, held at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos had the managing directors and chief executive officers of the MDAs in attendance. .<\/p>\n

Ezeh said the vetting of various contract sums by the BPP had further emphasised the core value of the bureau, which he said, was to ensure prudence in public expenditure.<\/p>\n

He said that the bureau would continue to ensure that there was transparency in the bidding process for contracts in the country.<\/p>\n

“The BPP will continue to work hard to ensure that the cost of doing business in Nigeria is reduced through the elimination of multiple registration of contractors, pre-qualification and the tendering process, to give chance for equal competence and capabilities. All competent contractors will be given a level playing field to demonstrate their capacity to deliver,\u2019\u2019 he said .<\/p>\n

Ezeh said that the bureau had gone far in the registration, classification and categorisation of contractors and consultants working or intending to work on Federal Government projects .<\/p>\n

“This is covered in the Public Procurement Act, 2007 which expects the bureau to maintain a national data base of the particulars of Federal contractors and service providers for ease of information sourcing. They have to do their analyses in conformity with the needs of the new Information age,” he said.<\/p>\n

The BPP boss added that “public officials are now beginning to see public funds as monies to be spent with care, and with a high sense of responsibility. Added to these gains are a resultant improved budget implementation and performance in terms of project delivery.<\/p>\n

“It is our hope that as the programme develops, the cost of doing business in Nigeria will be reduced through the elimination of duplication of awarded contracts,” he said.<\/p>\n

Ezeh also said that there were plans to consolidate ongoing collaboration with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Washington-based International Law Institute(ILI).<\/p>\n

“This is by establishing public procurement research centres at the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri, and in two other universities across the country. One each is to be established in a university in the northern part and another one in the south-western part of the country,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

“The essence is to establish academic bases for the development and expansion of procurement knowledge, which is a basis for its effective implementation,” he added.<\/p>\n

Also, speaking, Uzo Azubuike, the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, explained that efficient public procurement is vital to national development, saying that “it regulates the developmental capital component of the annual budget”.<\/p>\n

He noted that the level of compliance with procurement processes in a fiscal year determined the level of budget performance and the consequent development that could be achieved within that fiscal year.<\/p>\n

“Where there is arbitrary political interference with the procurement process, it will manifest in inevitable budget failure,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Azubuike, therefore, advised the chief executives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that contracts were not awarded at inflated prices.<\/p>\n

He also urged them to stop awarding to some contractors, more contracts than they could handle.<\/p>\n

“Contractors that have records of abandoning contracts should be blacklisted. The BPP should not stop at procurement, but should go ahead to monitor contracts awarded to ensure that Nigerians get value for money,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

Azubuike recalled that the 2012 budget implementation was below 30 per cent, because of the late presentation and signing of the budget.<\/p>\n

“This in turn delayed the commencement time for its implementation,” he said.<\/p>\n

The House Committee Chairman listed other reasons for the poor implementation of the 2012 budget to include: unwarranted conflicts between the executive and the legislature in the budget process, especially as to who had power of appropriation.<\/p>\n

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