The sponsor of the motion warned that if not addressed urgently, BPP may likely endanger the entire public procurement system.
The House of Representatives is set to probe the Bureau of Public Procure (BPP), over indiscriminate issuance of “Certificate of No Compliance”, and non-compliance with mandatory post-procurement audits.
The decision is sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by, Rep. Peter Akpanke (PDP, Cross River) at plenary on Wednesday.
In his presentation, Akpanke noted that by the Provisions of Sections 6(1)(c) and 16(1)(b) of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the BPP is authorized to issue a certificate of no objection to contracts awarded by relevant procurement entity.
He also noted that “the powers vested on the BPP are aimed at ensuring that the letters and spirit of the Public Procurement Act are complied with.
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“This is to ensure the government gets value for money and contracts awarded are within relevant thresholds backed by budgetary allocation.”
He also pointed out that the Bureau has failed to comply with the mandatory post–procurement audit as required by Section 5(p) of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
The lawmaker further observed that BPP has consistently engaged in under-hand dealings in the grant of “certificate of no objection” thus abusing the power to make pecuniary gains and increasing incidences of abandoned and failed projects across the country.
According to him, “such gross abuses and violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 has been exacerbated by the recent increase in arbitrary nomination to procuring entities of winners for tendering processes.”
He further warned that if urgent steps are not taken to investigate the allegations and address any proven infractions, the Bureau is likely to transform itself from a regulator to a disruptor and eventually endanger the entire public procurement system.
