Nigeria - President Goodluck Jonathan Monday railed against corruption in Nigeria’s public life, warning new ministers and other top appointees to avail themselves of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act as any of them caught flouting the law would be “severely dealt with”. Jonathan, speaking at the fourth national procurement forum organized by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, lamented that public officials still abused their offices in contravention of the Procurement Act through selfish acts like contract splitting, manipulation of pre-qualification processes, disregard for bidding regulations and payment guidelines.

He said with the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, the media and the general public now have a tool to work for good governance.

Noting that “the old era has passed away,” the President announced that “this is the era of transformation, the era of transparency and accountability, not just in words but by action, because the tools for public participation are now fully in place.”

Jonathan said “it is no longer possible to hide behind officialdom as everything is now in the open.”

Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Ayim, the President said “as we work towards the transformation of this country, I strongly advise that public officers, whether elected or appointed, to study the Public Procurement Act and understand and apply its provisions in the conduct of government business.

'There will be no sacred cows for any infraction, especially by those responsible for budget implementation at the Federal Level. And of course, ignorance of the law will never be accepted as an excuse. The BPP should expand its sensitization to all ministers, members of the National Assembly, chief executives of government agencies and even to Nigerian missions abroad. The time for this service country-wide sensitization is now.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in whose tenure BPP (also called Due Process Office) was established, expressed concern about the legion of breaches of the Procurement Law in the country without the concomitant penalty for defaulters.

Obasanjo said: “let me express concern about breaches of the BPP Act. Breaches without sanctions are a sure way to kill the reforms and make the law useless because a law is as good as its observance by all.”

Director General of BPP Emeka Ezeh, had announced that for the 2010 budget implementation alone, BPP was able to save for the Federal Government the sum of 216 billion naira (US$ 1 = 150 naira), resulting from over-invoicing by officials, in collusion with contractors, for jobs done for the Federal Government.

Ezeh also revealed that five Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) found to have gravely contravened the Procurement Act, have been referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and possible prosecution.

He, however, declined to name the affected MDAs.

Eze listed political interference and corruption, institutional resistance, skills and competence gaps, late budget approval versus slow start of procurement processes, poor project execution and supervision as some of the challenges faced by BPP.

pana 26/07/2011