NEWS

Report Accuses National Assembly and Agencies of Corruption and Lack of Transparency

A Trade Estimate Report of the United States has accused the National Assembly and Agencies of abusing procurement processes and lack of regard for transparency.

In the said report, U.S. companies have expressed "concerns about corruption and a lack of transparency in procurement processes in Nigeria."

The report further stated: "The Public Procurement Act of 2007 established the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) as the regulatory authority responsible for the monitoring and oversight of public procurement in Nigeria."

"Only majority Nigerian-owned companies may bid on procurements above ₦2.5 million (approximately $1,600), up to ₦100 million (approximately $64,000) for goods, and up to ₦1 billion (approximately $640,000) for services and works."

The report noted that Agencies in Nigeria do not consistently adhere to the standards set by the Bureau of Public Procurement.

"Above those thresholds, both majority foreign-owned and majority Nigerian-owned companies may engage in competitive bidding. However, agencies do not always follow procurement guidelines, despite the requirement that no procurement proceedings are to be formalised until the procuring entity has ensured that funds are available to meet the obligations and has obtained a ‘Certificate of No Objection to Contract Award’ from the BPP."

The report also acknowledged that Nigeria has made some progress in improving its procurement processes: "Nigeria has made modest progress on its pledge to conduct open and competitive bidding processes for government procurement."

"The BPP has made a variety of procurement procedures and bidding information publicly available on its website."

The report notwithstanding, criticised the National Assembly for operating outside the BPP's oversight:

"However, Nigeria’s National Assembly operates its own procurement process that is not subject to BPP oversight and lacks transparency. Although U.S. companies have won contracts in various sectors, difficulties in receiving payments are common and can discourage firms from bidding."

"Foreign government-subsidised financing arrangements appear in some cases to be a crucial factor in the award of government procurements."

Corruption, with regards to procurement has been identified as a key factor besetting development in Nigeria.

In January this year, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, was credited to have said public sector corruption was the greatest problem in the country with contract fraud accounting for 90 percent of corruption in the public sector.

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