by By Elijah Ugani
The member representing Obudu/Bekwarra/Obanliku federal constituency, Hon Peter Akpanke has moved a motion to investigate the indiscriminate issuance of certificate of no objection by the Bereau of Public Procurement and non-compliance with the mandatory post-procurement audit.
The lawmaker who brought the motion under matter of urgent public importance, noted that, “by the Provisions of the Sections 6 (1)(c) and 16 (1) (b) of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the Bureau of Public procurement (BPP) is authorized to issue a certificate of no objection to contracts awarded by relevant procurement entity;
Also notes that the powers vested in the Bureau of Public Procurement are aimed at ensuring that the letters and spirit of the Public Procurement Act are compiled with, the government gets value for money, contracts awarded are within relevant thresholds backed by budgetary allocation”.
Speaking further, Hon Akpanke averred that “the Bureau of Public Procurement has failed to comply with the mandatory post-procurement audit as required by Section 5(p) of the Public Procurement Act 2007”.
He further observed that “the Bureau has consistently engaged in under-hand dealings in the grant of “certificate of no objection” thus abusing the power to make pecuniary gains and increasing incidences of the abandoned and failed projects across the country”.
Akpanke maintained that “such gross abuses and violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 has been exasperated by the recent increase in arbitrary nomination to procuring entities of winners for tendering processes and where the procuring entity declines, the process is interjected and frustrated in bad faith and for flimsy reasons”.
Hon Akpanke expressed worries that “if urgent steps are not taken to investigate the allegations and address any proven infractions, the Bureau of Public Procurement is likely to transform itself from a regulator to a disruptor and eventually endanger the entire public procurement system”.
He called on the Speaker to “mandate the Committee on Public Procurement to investigate the above allegations and report back within six(6) weeks for legislative action; and
Also mandate the Committee on Public Procurement to consider the Biannual reports submitted in the last six years and make their findings known to the public”.
