The Federal Government has vowed to crack down on inflated public contracts and procurement violations, warning heads of government-owned agencies, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions that they risk sanctions for breaching procurement regulations.
The government raised the alarm over contract awards that exceed approved price benchmarks, restricted competition through exclusive arrangements for contractors and undermine regulatory oversight.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, issued the warning in a circular directing accounting officers of Federal Government-owned enterprises and other public institutions to comply strictly with the Public Procurement Act, 2007, or face penalties.
The circular, obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, was addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, heads of government agencies and parastatals, among other senior public officials.
Akume expressed concern that several government-owned enterprises and corporations continued to award contracts in violation of the procurement law, despite its amendment by the Finance Act, 2020.
He said the practice had resulted in inflated contract sums, restricted competition and inadequate regulatory oversight, warning that the government would no longer tolerate such breaches.
The SGF consequently directed all government-owned enterprises, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions that utilise public funds to ensure that their procurement activities comply with the Act.
He also instructed heads of the affected institutions, who serve as accounting officers, to liaise with the Bureau of Public Procurement for guidance, stressing that those who continued to award contracts in violation of the law would be sanctioned.
The directive places responsibility for procurement compliance on accounting officers and requires immediate circulation of the circular among them for strict implementation.
The circular stated, “It has come to the attention of the Federal Government that despite the provisions of Section 15 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, as amended by the Finance Act, 2020, several Federal Government Owned Enterprises and Corporations continue to procure and award contracts without recourse to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.”
According to the SGF, the practice had contributed to inflated contract prices, restricted competition and inadequate regulatory oversight in public procurement.
“This practice has resulted in contract sums that are above established pricing benchmarks, captive markets for exclusive contractors, significant departure from approved guidelines and absence of critical regulatory oversight, amongst other lapses,” the circular added.
Akume declared that the government would no longer tolerate such violations, warning that institutions that continued to disregard procurement regulations would face consequences.
“This non-compliance is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated,” he said.
The directive places particular responsibility on the heads of the affected institutions, who also serve as accounting officers, warning that they would be held accountable for continuing to award contracts outside the provisions of the law.
Akume specifically instructed the accounting officers to engage the Bureau of Public Procurement for guidance on the implementation of the procurement regulations.
The circular stated, “The Heads of Enterprises, Corporations, Councils, Authorities and Commissions, who are also the Accounting Officers, are hereby directed to liaise with the Bureau of Public Procurement for further guidance, as any Accounting Officer who contravenes this directive and continues to award contracts without recourse to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, shall be sanctioned accordingly.”
The SGF further directed that the circular be circulated among all accounting officers for immediate implementation.
“The content of this Circular should be brought to the attention of all Accounting Officers for immediate and strict compliance,” he said.
Among the officials and institutions copied on the circular were the Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Principal Secretary to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and all ministers and ministers of state.
Others included the National Security Adviser, Economic Adviser to the President, special advisers and senior special assistants, Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The directive was also addressed to the chairmen of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Police Service Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Federal Character Commission, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Independent National Electoral Commission.
Also copied were the chairmen of the National Population Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
The circular further listed all permanent secretaries and heads of extra-ministerial departments, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General for the Federation and directors-general and chief executives of parastatals, agencies and government-owned companies among its recipients.
