A scathing verdict on the performance Bureau of Public Procurement,BPP was handed down , Tuesday in Abuja. Alhaji M.J. Aliyu, President of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria,CIPSMN alleged that the BPP is in fact undermining professionalism in the sector.He spoke while delivering his opening remarks at the stakeholders’ Roundtable on the Review of BPP ‘National Database for the Registration, Categorization and Classification of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers’.
Said Aliyu, “As stakeholders in Nigeria, you are invited here today to hear and share issues with you, and to have the opportunity to analyze the content of the proposed Database. We are deeply concerned about the deliberate attempt by the Management of BPP to undermine professionalism in Nigeria. The need to discourage this development and put the facts right is far more urgent now than ever before. Therefore, all professional bodies and associations, the National Assembly, civil society organizations and the media have the responsibility to check these excesses, as a means to putting the Nigeria economy on the right track, and to achieve some aspect of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Vision 20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda of the present administration.
He added “And as part of our responsibility in addressing the concerns raised by participants about the proposed Database, we assembled a team of experts from and outside the Institute to do a thorough review of the presentation which took place in Lagos on June 16. The Team is made up of professionals from the Institute, Accountants, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Doctors and printers among others. The result of that review is what will be presented today for further review by you. Ultimately, the proceeds from today’s meeting will be presented formally to the Bureau and other key government organs.
Pointedly, the CIPSMN president said “Every informed Nigerian (is) aware of the developments around the BPP since its establishment in 2009. It is no longer news that BPP is a shadow of its self, lacking in capacity to carry its statutory functions, but enmeshed in crises of misprocurement. These facts were confirmed recently when the two chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate and House of Representatives declared the Bureau as illegal, requesting the President to without further delay disband the Bureau and inaugurate the National Council of Public Procurement (NCPP). For us, this is the height of discredit for an institution that is set up to fight corruption in the public sector. It is alarming however that Presidency has kept mum since these resolutions of the National Assembly and continues to accommodate the Bureau.”
Experts who presented profound papers on Tuesday include Mallam Abdul Mamman and Engr Ibiam Oguejiofo.Unfortunately though Engr Emeka Ezeh ,DG BPP was invited to the Roundtable, he could not make it.Rather, he wrote a letter informing the organizers that he was also attending another gathering bordering on the same issues at the same time elsewhere.
Read the communiqué issued at the end of the Roundtable below:
ONE-DAY ROUNDTABLE BY THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PURCHASING AND SUPPLY MANAGEMENT OF NIGERIA (CIPSMN) ON THE PRESENTATION CEREMONY OF THE NATIONAL DATABASE FOR THE REGISTRATION, CATEGORIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF CONTRACTORS, CONSULTANTS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS ORGANIZED BY THE BUREAU FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (BPP)
A COMMUNIQUE
PREAMBLE:
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) held a one-day roundtable conference on Tuesday, 24th July, 2012 at the Banquet Hall, Merit House, FCT, Abuja to deliberate on the matters arising from the Presentation Ceremony of the National Database for the Registration, Categorization and Classification of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers organized by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) on Monday, 11th June, 2012.
The roundtable, aimed at identifying the gaps in the documents caused by lack of inputs from Key Professionals Bodies to the Database, was attended by a Team of Experts and Professionals (TEP).
In order to realize the noble objectives of the gathering, edifying presentations were made by experts and professionals including Alh. Isa Bello Sali, Head of Service of the Federation, represented by Arc. (Mrs.) Olaronke Ajayi, Assistant Director, Procurement; Alh. Mohammed J. Aliyu, President Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN); Mr. Mike Omeri, Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), represented by Mrs. Victoria Oluremi Afolabi, Deputy Director, Procurement; Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by Mr. Bolaji Salami, Director, Organisational Support; Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Executive Director, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre-LSD), represented by Mr. Osasah Monday, Programme Officer, among other participants.
A letter from the Director General, BPP to the Institute apologizing for the unavoidable absence of the Bureau from the Roundtable was read. The participants were grateful but regretted the absence of the Bureau from the gathering to clarify some grey areas in the proposed Database, adding that it was unfortunate that the Bureau could not send even a person to represent her in this very important Roundtable of national concern.
FINDINGS:
i. That the consistent and continuous breach of public Procurement laws by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) in most circumstances promotes corruption in Nigeria and disregards value for money.
ii. That the introduction of the parlance “Registration of Contractors” by the BPP is incongruous and contrary Section 5 (h) of the Public Procurement Act 2007.
iii. That there is insufficient information which needs to be clarified most especially the justification of the action of the BPP in creating a database and registering contractors and service providers.
iv. That the BPP included some key industry regulators and professional bodies such as COREN, ICAN, ANAN, NBA, etc but omitted some vital revenue generation agencies such as the state revenue boards from the list and excluded some momentous professional bodies and service providers like the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN), the National Assembly, the Judiciary and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
v. That there is glaring possibility of imminent bid rigging as currently proposed by BPP if roles are not properly assigned.
vi. That the BPP Procurement Matrix-Services have failed to distinguish between the two new terminologies “Consultancy and Professional Services”.
vii. That the exclusion of Agriculture from the list is detrimental to the achievement of the vision 20:2020 targets of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Subsidy Reinvestment goals and the Transformation Agenda.
viii. That there is a knowledge gap within the public procurement system in Nigeria, giving rise flagrant abuse of the procurement process.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
i. That the BPP should comply fully with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) in the proposed “National Database for the registration, categorization and classification of contractors, consultants and service providers” in order to curb corruption and promote value for money.
ii. That the BPP should conform to the rule of law which stipulates that “The Bureau shall maintain a national database of the particulars and classification of Federal Contractors and Service Providers”.
iii. That there is strong need for clarifications on the justification of the action of the BPP in creating a database and registering contractors and service providers as well as the powers of BPP to undergo classification, logic and model for the registration of contractors and service providers.
iv. That the Bureau should adjust the list of end users of the database to include state revenue boards, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria, the National Assembly, the Judiciary and the non governing organizations.
v. That it is the responsibility of the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to pre-qualify and not to register bidders; BPP and MDAs only register contractors that have conducted certain contracts or services.
vi. That the Matrix should distinguish between the two new words “Consultancy and Professional Services” and separate consultancy services and non consultancy services as required under the PPA 2007.
vii. That Agriculture is a major aspect of the national economic drive and should be included in the list for the achievement of the vision 20:2020, the Subsidy Reinvestment efforts and the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
viii. That there is need for continuous training and retraining of personnel within the public procurement system, involving relevant and appropriate professional body, such as the CIPSMN.
CONCLUSION:
The Institute remains very grateful to the BPP for this privilege to review the documents towards making them generally acceptable for the benefits of our national economy and for lasting democracy in Nigeria. It is our candid belief and utmost hope that these inputs would be duly incorporated before the adoption of the final copy of the database.
The Institute would continue to remain committed to issues of national interest as part of her concerns for total war against Public Procurement Corruption (PPC) and promotion of value for money.
Signed:
- Prince Ibrahim Anas – Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry
Mines and Agriculture
- Mr. Osasah Monday – Leadership Centre for Strategic and Development
- Barr. Kayode Tinubu – Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management
of Nigeria
- Mr. Abel O. Victor – Centre for Social Justice
- Chief Casmiar Obialom – NGO Network
