Inflated contracts: FG rolls out sanctions against procurement officials, contractors, over inflated contracts

• As concerns proceed to equine implicit the rising outgo of governance and projects, the authorities is taking action
• Contractors and procurement officers recovered to beryllium progressive successful immoderate signifier of task irregularity volition look sanctions
• The contented of over-inflated projects has been a recurring decimal successful nationalist governance successful Nigeria

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has implicit a decennary of acquisition successful concern reporting crossed integer and mainstream media.

As Nigeria intensifies efforts to betterment nationalist governance and trim corruption, the national authorities has issued a beardown informing to procurement officers implicit irregularities successful task execution.

This comes amid increasing concerns astir inflated contracts, procurement process abuse, and the misuse of nationalist funds, which person agelong undermined infrastructure transportation and work ratio crossed the country.

The Bureau of Public Procurement has declared that these officers recovered to beryllium implicit successful over-inflated projects and contracts volition beryllium exposed and sanctioned, particularly if recovered to beryllium progressive successful inflating declaration costs oregon circumventing owed process.

Activities similar inflating contracts volition present pull dense sanctions. Photo credit: State House
Source: Facebook

Speaking implicit the play astatine a sensitisation store for directorate-level procurement officers successful Abuja, the Director-General of the Bureau, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, warned the officers that behaving similar politicians oregon colluding with contractors to circumvent the strategy volition nary longer beryllium tolerated.

The BPP brag noted that the directive covers each procurement officers successful Ministries, Directorates, and Agencies.

He specified that activities ranging from mediocre specifications, inflated contracts, oregon giving irregular approvals would beryllium spotted retired and punished, the PUNCH reports.

He said;

“If a task is inflated, I volition clasp you accountable. If a idiosyncratic section drafts specifications and needs and you judge them without due scrutiny, we volition clasp you accountable. Procurement is nary longer a backdoor activity. You are expected to usher the process professionally and supply grounds of doing so. If the procurement fails, you volition reply for it.”

BPP Audit uncovers irregularities

Adedokun besides disclosed that BPP audits had uncovered violations specified arsenic declaration splitting and unauthorised procurements.

He advised the officers to desist from specified amerciable activities, explaining that nationalist procurements should beryllium astir driving nationalist development, transforming society, and delivering worth for nationalist funds, not conscionable astir awarding contracts.

Adedokun encouraged the officers to transportation retired their duties diligently, noting that faithful officers with integrity volition beryllium protected.

His words;

“BPP volition support procurement officers. If they bash the close thing, we volition basal by them. But if they compromise, we volition beryllium the archetypal to exposure them. That is the statement we person reached with the Head of Service.

Keep successful caput that the 2025 National Budget triggered reactions, with respective items said to person been inflated.

FG to debar contractors who default

The BPP brag added successful his remarks that the national authorities is besides acceptable to present a argumentation to debar contractors who person a grounds of failing to present connected task execution.

He stressed that each reforms nether the Renewed Hope Agenda indispensable beryllium handled transparently and efficiently, and urged each stakeholders to play their relation successful nationalist development.

The Bureau of Public Procurement is retired to clamp down connected corrupt procurement practices. Photo credit: Kola Sulaimon
Source: Getty Images

Recall that the erstwhile DG of BPP, Mamman Ahmadu, was asked to resign owed to reorganisation efforts by President Bola Tinubu.

FG to amend Public Procurement Act

In related news, Legit.ng reported that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has requested that President Bola Tinubu nonstop successful an enforcement measure to amend the existent procurement act.

According to Akpabio, the existent enactment did not springiness country for the effectual execution of the project, with lone astir 1% required to beryllium paid for task commencement.

He explained that if a contractor lone received N5 cardinal for the commencement of a task worthy N500 million, specified a contractor was much apt to wantonness it, hence the existent concern of implicit 14,000 projects crossed the country.

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Source: Legit.ng