BPP SAVES N333BN FROM 2011 CONTRACTS

The Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) stopped ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) from ripping off the Federal Government of N333 billion in the 2011 fiscal year.

It has also emerged that heads of MDAs are now furious with the BPP on its insistence on due process in the award of contracts following a tacit endorsement of its activities by the World Bank.

In another instance, the BPP reportedly cut a contract, which was pegged at N978 million to N168 million.

The contract, said sources, was to have been executed by the leadership of a sensitive arm of government. The leaders in that sector were stunned by BPP's action but the agency stood its ground and eventually got support from the Presidency on the matter.

'In 2011 alone, the BPP saved this government N333 billion. That amount covers contracts whose sums are above N1 billion. Nobody knows how much would have been lost from contracts whose sums are below N1 billion which are not verified by the agency.

'In one particular instance, one contract was cut from N978 million to N168 million and the contract was still executed fully with the new sum after the BPP approved the final figures,' the source said.

National Assembly sources told Daily Sun that BPP's discovery of padding of budgets and contracts had further encouraged President Goodluck Jonathan to further empower the BPP to vet contracts above N1 billion.

Mr. Emeka Ezeh, an engineer is the director general of the BPP.

But the Bureau had come under intense pressure from MDAs which preferred to award contracts based on 'selective tenders' rather than an open bid where such contracts were given to the lowest bidder.

Meanwhile, barring any changes, the National Assembly was expected to pass the 2012 budget on Wednesday.