US Report Accuses Nigerian National Assembly, Agencies Of
Procurement Corruption, Lack of Transparency
The United States, through its Trade Estimate Report, has
accused the Nigerian National Assembly and agencies in the country of abusing
procurement processes and lacking transparency.
According to the 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."
However, the report specifically criticised the Nigerian
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."
Procurement corruption has long been highlighted as a major
issue affecting development in the country.
In January, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, stated that public sector
corruption was the greatest problem in the country.
According to him, procurement and contract fraud accounted
for 90 percent of the corruption in the sector.
The EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said Olukoyede made this
assertion during a meeting with a delegation from the management team of the
Bureau of Public Procurement.
"In the EFCC, we handle both private and public sector
fraud. And when it comes to the public sector, which is one of our major
problems in Nigeria, we discovered that contract and procurement fraud takes
more than 90 percent of the volume of public sector fraud. And if you look at
it, they range from commingling, contract splitting, and all forms of
shenanigans all over the place."
"Infrastructure-wise and all other developmental
problems are attributable to contract and procurement fraud. It lies with you
an
