Failure To Implement Procurement Act Fuels Poverty

Presidential Candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Architect Dr. Peter Agada, has blamed Nigeria’s endemic poverty and 27 years of underdevelopment on the failure to implement the Bureau of Public Procurement Act to ascertain the National Council on Public Procurement consistent with Section 2 of the Establishment Act 2007.

In an announcement issued on Monday, Dr. Agada mentioned full implementation of the Act will enable authorities to interrogate 90 % of all initiatives which have gulped Nigeria’s sources through the years, making certain transparency and accountability.

He mentioned the procurement system from 1999 to this point has failed as a result of 4 core targets of the Act – economic system and effectivity, worth for cash, transparency, and competitors via degree taking part in floor for all bidders – have been flagrantly uncared for.

Agada disclosed that his administration’s technique will divide initiatives into two, with one half dealt with by direct labour, stressing that financial savings from forensic auditing of initiatives alone can fund all initiatives below his Ward Intervention Initiative two or 3 times over.

“This idea is funding for Ward development projects; we intend to send funding of N40 million naira non-FAAC funds to every ward in Nigeria. With non-FAAC sources, there will be a 13-man ward steering committee we will set up per ward, with a ward development master plan and a bank account domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he mentioned.

He defined that the Act, divided into 13 components and 61 sections, establishes the Council chaired by the Minister of Finance with members together with Attorney-General, SGF, Head of Service, Economic Adviser to the President, and representatives of buying, NBA, NACCIMA, engineers, civil society, media, with the DG of the Bureau as Secretary.

Citing Sections 5 and 6, Agada mentioned the Bureau is remitted to formulate insurance policies, certify federal procurement earlier than award topic to thresholds, supervise implementation, monitor tender costs, publish main contracts within the procurement journal and keep a nationwide database of contractors.

He additional cited Section 7, which gives that the Director-General shall be appointed by the President on suggestion of the Council after aggressive choice, should have 15 years skilled qualification, serve 4 years renewable as soon as, and might solely be eliminated on confirmed gross misconduct, monetary impropriety or fraud.

Agada mentioned the full cash wanted for 8,809 wards is about N32 trillion, with N25 trillion to be raised by way of funding and FDI in tranches, alongside land title valuation, diminished meals importation, lean governance and gas subsidy financial savings.

“We have those numbers. These are non-FAAC, and we are not going to tamper with the current FAAC and Tax structure, but we would do forensic checks of projects and drop the waste clauses and cost from them via the National Council on Procurement and our planned EPC system reforms. The Lagos/Calabar Coastal Road is a clear sign that the time has come for rolling in the National Council on Procurement,” he added.