Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative, a civil society organization has described the circular by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume to Ministries, Departments and Agencies on Operationalization and Development of Federal Government Contract Administration System (FCAS) for MDAs, as violating the existing law on contract management and administration.
According to the circular which quoted the memo, the aim is to protect the government from entering potential flawed and unfavourable contracts that would lead to litigation at great cost.
| According to a statement by Mohammed Bougei Attah, National Coordinator Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative Tuesday in Abuja, |
The circular did not only undermine and usurp the statutory roles and responsibilities of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), it also potential put the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF in an illegal engagement.
Attah noted that “advising all MDAs to direct inquiries and clarifications on FCAS through the office of the AGF, via a special unit, the government has only succeeded in exposing the office to illegalities, contradictions and legal tussles that the SGF seek to avoid.”
Explaining further, the National Coordinator said, “It should be noted that the BPP was established by Act No. 14 of 2007 to perform the oversight of contracts implementation which include the issuance of ‘No Objection Certificates’ to or for contracts awarded.
“While the Office of the SGF, AGF and the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP has statutory roles in contract awards and implementations, the AGF cannot be seen to play the role of a party or be a judge in the process.
“The role of the AGF in procurement or contract administration is limited to interpretation, defence and prosecution of contract issues or cases as the case may be. The office in this case cannot be a party to the process and be a judge at the same time in the case of any legal challenge.
“Section 7 of the PPA 2007 specifically mandates the BPP to oversee and advise on contract implementation in Nigeria public sector, and this includes ensuring that contract approvals at the level of threshold by the Federal Executive Council, FEC and all MDAs meet certain criteria to qualify for ‘No Objection Certificates’.”
To address the anomaly, the group called on the government to “constitute and inaugurate the National Council on Public Procurement, NCPP on one instance, and to constitute the BPP in accordance with provisions in Section 16 of the Act, read together with Section 19 of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management Act 2007. Anything short of this step will continue to take Nigeria backwards, undermine the efforts in the fight against corruption and increase the economic downturn.”
