BPP Urges SSDC to Prioritise Compliance With Procurement Act
Dr Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement(BPP), has urged the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) to strictly comply with the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
This is contained in a statement issued by Zira Nagga, BPP’s Head of Media and Public Relations, in Abuja on Monday.
According to Nagga, Adedokun gave the charge while delivering a virtual lecture at a two-day induction programme for members of the SSDC Board and Senior Management.
He said the programme was organised by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) and the SSDC.
Adedokun, who spoke on the theme, “Essentials of the Public Procurement”, described procurement as a strategic instrument for national development rather than merely a purchasing function.
“Public procurement is the bridge between budget approval and service delivery. “It is one of the most powerful instruments of governance for delivering public value, driving economic growth, and ensuring prudent management of public resources,” he said.
The director-general urged the commission to uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, accountability, open competition, value for money, efficiency and effectiveness in all procurement processes.
He warned against common procurement violations, including defective bidding processes, manipulation of bid evaluations, bypassing BPP oversight, misuse of emergency procurement provisions, poor record-keeping and failure to comply with bid-opening timelines.
“There is no provision for urgent procurement outside the exceptions provided by the law,” he said.
He said that the bureau recorded savings of about N1.1 trillion from procurement processes in 2025, adding that its compliance monitoring mechanisms had also prevented billions of naira in potential losses to the Federal Government.
Adedokun said that procurement activities must commence only after an approved procurement plan had been put in place, noting that initiating procurement without such a plan constitutes a criminal offence. He said that procurement plans must be coordinated by the Procurement Department.
According to him, the plans must be reviewed by the Procurement Planning Committee, approved by the Tenders Board and forwarded to the BPP through the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO) for review and approval.
The BPP boss drew attention to recent amendments under the Finance Act, noting that tenders board decisions now required written confirmation by the political head within a specified period.
He said that the amendments also introduced new provisions on mobilisation fees, made open competitive bidding the default procurement method and imposed stricter conditions for alternative procurement methods.
The director-general said that procurement responsibilities should only be handled by trained and certified professionals, and that contractors must meet all statutory requirements before participating in government procurement.
He outlined the procurement cycle from needs assessment and market survey to post-procurement audit, emphasising that engineering designs, bills of quantities and technical specifications must be prepared and certified by qualified professionals.
The BPP chief also said that the roles of critical stakeholders, including the board chairman and members, accounting officers, tenders boards, procurement planning committees, civil society organisations, professional bodies, the BPP and enforcement agencies.
According to him, board chairmen and members are expected to provide strategic and policy direction, perform oversight functions, and ensure compliance with the PPA 2007 and relevant government policies.
He, however, said that they were not authorised to award contracts or conduct procurement activities. He cautioned participants against compromising procurement regulations because of personal relationships or political pressure. “Public officers will be held personally liable for unlawful decisions.,” he said.
Adedokun urged the commission to leverage public procurement as a strategic tool for driving sustainable development in the South-South region through impactful investments in infrastructure, education, tourism, energy and other critical sectors. #BPP Urges SSDC to Prioritise Compliance With Procurement Act# BPP, Reps Committee Begin Talks on Review of Public Procurement Act
