The Bureau for Public Procurement, BPP has alleged that the Mandate Secretaries of the Federal Capital Territory Administration are working against the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in the FCT.Director General of the Bureau, Engr. Emeka Ezeh said this at the interactive session of the Bureau and the FCTA procurement officials during the presentation of the classification and categorization of federal contractors and service providers for speedy prequalification exercise.
Ezeh situated his allegation on the fact that the BPP, which he heads, was yet to be approached with any project in the 2012 appropriation Act passed in March by the various mandate secretaries for due process certification.
He also indicted the Mandate secretaries as late comers, a situation he maintained does not augur well for the progress of the FCT administration.
“I received information that if you go to the offices of most of the mandate secretariat at 10am you may not see anybody because the mandate secretaries come to work at 11, I do not know if it is true, but if the mandate secretary comes to work at 11am, it means the that those who have to report to them will resume work at 5 minutes earlier.”
The BPP boss maintained that this was an indication that they are not prepared to deliver on the various projects they had quoted for in the 2012 appropriation Act and by extension undermining the performances of their respective ministers.
According to him: “The problem I do have is that even as am talking to you now a lot of your secretariat has not advertised the projects you intend to do in 2012, which to me is an intention to undermine the performance of your ministers.
“If you do not prepare the projects development documents, in other words, the scope of work early enough and you are waiting by this time when are you going to advertise, receive bids, evaluate and implement? And if by October you are advertising for a project that is in your budget since March when it was passed, to me is an intention to undermine the performance of your ministers, Ezeh said.
Ezeh argued that given the average period of project verification with the BPP, with respect to the performance contract between the President and his ministers which would be assessed in compliance with those appropriations the action of the secretaries’ remains counter-productive in the interest of the public.
He cautioned the six Mandate secretariats over rush-project-execution especially by awarding the contracts to themselves through their cronies in the name of welfare at the end of the year.
“That is not a license for you to go and ask somebody to bring out 5 bids in the name of welfare,” he cautioned.
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