What is Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP)?
What are the objectives?
What are the functions?
&
Powers of Bureau of Public Procurement in Nigeria?

In this blog, we will give answer to the above questions as much as we can.

What is Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP)?

The Bureau of Public Procurement is the regulatory body that is responsible for monitoring and providing oversight for public procurement of goods, services or constructions in Nigeria. The Bureau is responsible for regulating, setting the standards, and developing the legal framework, and also the professional capacity that is needed to harmonize all existing government policies and practices for public procurement in Nigeria.
The introduction of Public Procurement Reforms in Nigeria followed a World Bank Country Procurement Assessment survey conducted in 1999 which established the link between poor/weak public procurement procedures and corruption as well as its far reaching negative consequences on national development especially in the area of infrastructural development in Nigeria. The Assessment Report revealed that 60k was being lost to underhand practices out of every N1.00 spent by Government and that an average of ten Billion US Dollars ($10b) was being lost annually due to fraudulent practices in the award and execution of public contracts through inflation of contract cost, lack of procurement plans, poor project prioritization, poor budgeting processes, lack of competition and value for money and other kinds of manipulations of the procurement and contract award processes.

Read: Requirements for BPP registration.

In order to address the above shortcomings, the Federal Government initiated the Public Procurement Reform as part of its Economic Reform agenda designed to restore due process in the award and execution of federal government contracts. This led to the setting up of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligent Unit (BMPIU known as Due Process) in 2001 to implement the Federal Government’s Public Procurement Reform Policy aimed at minimizing open abuses to known rules, processes and standards in the award and execution of public sector contracts in Nigeria.

Following the growing Public demand that the reforms are sustained and institutionalized with legal backing, a Public Procurement Bill was articulated in 2003/2004 by the Leadership of BMPIU and presented to the National Assembly. The Public Procurement Bill was thereafter passed by the National Assembly on the 30th of May, 2007 and subsequently signed into Law by Mr. President on the 4th of June, 2007.

The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) provides a registration database system known as the Contractor and Service Provider Database System for all federal government contractors, consultants, and service providers. If you want to be a consultant, contractor or service provider with the federal government, you need to pass the Bureau of Public Procurement registration.

THE CORE OBJECTIVES OF ESTABLISHING THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ARE;

1. The harmonization of  existing government policies and practices on public procurement and ensure probity, accountability and transparency in the procurement process;
2. The establishment of  pricing standards and benchmarks;
3. Ensuring the application of fair, competitive, transparent, value-for-money standards and practices for the procurement and disposal of public assets.
4. The attainment of  transparency, competitiveness, cost effectiveness and professionalism in the public sector procurement system

Read: Business or Company Registration Service in Nigeria

THE FUNCTIONS OF BUREAU OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT.

• Formulate the general policies and guidelines relating to public sector procurement for the approval of the Council;
• Publicise and explain the provisions of the procurement act;
• Subject to thresholds as may be set by the Council, certify Federal procurement prior to the award of contract;
• Supervise the implementation of established procurement policies;
• Monitor the prices of tendered items and keep a national database of standard prices;
• Publish the details of major contracts in the procurement journal;
• Publish paper and electronic editions of the procurement journal and maintain an archival system for the procurement journal;
• Maintain a national database of the particulars and classification and categorisation of federal contractors and service providers;
• Collate and maintain in an archival system, all federal procurement plans and information;
• Undertake procurement research and surveys;
• Organise training and development programmes for procurement professionals;
• Periodically review the socio-economic effect of the policies on procurement and advise the Council accordingly;
• Prepare and update standard bidding and contract documents;
• Prevent fraudulent and unfair procurement and where necessary apply administrative sanctions;
• Review the procurement and award of contract procedures of every entity to which the procurement act applies;
• Perform procurement audits and submit such report to the national Assembly bi-annually;
• Introduce, develop, update and maintain related database and technology;
• Establish a single internet portal that shall serve as a primary and definitive source of all information on government procurement containing and displaying all public sector procurement information at all times; and
• Co-ordinate relevant training programs to build institutional capacity

The Powers of the BUREAU OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT:

• enforce the monetary and prior review thresholds set by the Council for the application of the provisions of this Act by the procuring entities ;
• subject to the paragraph (a) of this subsection, issue certificate of “No Objection” for Contract Award” within the prior review threshold for all procurements within the purview of this Act :
• from time to time stipulate to all procuring entities the procedures and documentation pre- requisite for the issuance of Certificate of ‘No Objection’ under this Act ;

Read: Debt Recovery Service in Nigeria

where a reason exist:

• cause to be inspected or reviewed any procurement transaction to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act,
• review and determine whether any procuring entity has violated any provision of this Act
• debar any supplier, contractor or service provider that contravenes any provision of this Act and regulations made pursuant to this Act ;
• maintain a national database of federal contractors and service providers and to the exclusion of all procuring entities prescribe classifications and categorizations for the companies on the register ;
• maintain a list of firms and persons that have been debarred from participating in public procurement activity and publish them in the procurement journal ;
• call for such information, documents, records and reports in respect of any aspect of any procurement proceeding where a breach, wrongdoing, default, mismanagement and or collusion has been alleged, reported or proved against a procuring entity or service provider ;
• recommend to the Council, where there are persistent or serious breaches of this Act or regulations or guidelines made under this Act for :

• the suspension of officers concerned with the procurement or disposal proceeding in issue ;
• the replacement of the head or any of the members of the procuring or disposal unit of any entity or the Chairperson of the Tenders Board as the case may be ;
• the discipline of the Accounting Officer of any procuring entity ;
• the temporary transfer of the procuring and disposal function of a procuring and disposing entity to a third party procurement agency or consultant ; or
• any other sanction that the Bureau may consider of appropriate ;

• call for the production of books of accounts, plans, documents, and examine persons or parties in connection with any procurement proceeding ;
• act upon complaints in accordance with the procedures set out in this Act ;
• nullify the whole or any part of any procurement proceeding or award which is in contravention of this Act ;:
• do such other things as are necessary for the efficient performance of its functions under this Act