Newsdiaryonline Thur June 22,2011

Director General of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), Engr. Emeka Ezeh said yesterday that the contract verification agency  received request for over 952 contracts in the last appropriation year, which ran from January 2010 to March this year. Of this, he said nine requests for contract verification were denied as the bureau awaits information from the supervisory ministry for over a hundred contracts. Ezeh stated this yesterday while speaking on activities of the bureau at the European Union (EU)third business in Lagos.

The BPP boss explained that there are strict sanctions in place for erring personnel of government ministries agencies and departments, who breach regulations to short change the government.
He listed the challenges of budget implementation to include poor procurement planning by the respective governmental agencies, delay in budget submission by the National Assembly, delay in appropriation by National Assembly as well as admitting into budget  projects not ready
with detailed design and scope, making contractors unable to execute in one year.

Other challenges listed by the technocrats are budget release versus funds availability, delay in award of contracts long after the BPP No Objection Certificate ( NOC), has been issued. The rest  are major changes of scope after award of contract, abandonment of procurement processes if the preferred contractor is unsuccessful. He therefore called for strong political support, affirming that no reform will work without the needed assistance.

"We are calling for strong international support needed for the Bureau for Public Procurement to survive. We are also calling for depoliticization of the procurement process, as we look forward to
gain stakeholders buy in as well as urging all state and local governments to adopt the law."

He explained that a few years ago the general perception about Nigeria was that there is nothing transparent about the contract verification process; a development he said had adverse effects on the budgeting system.

According to him, the third EU business meeting has offered a robust opportunity for the BPP to meet with stakeholders and reassess respective expectations as well as plan for the future.
The central focus of the meeting revolved around: "Public Procurement: Due process, budget execution and criminal offences." Ezeh further explained there is need for all stakeholders to support the crusade by the BPP to bring about a transparent process for the award and execution of contracts affirming that the laid down procedure at the bureau has helped to save government more funds that would have gone into private pockets.

He further explained the regulated environment for contract award and verification has sanitized the way and manner the job is being done. He said: "I do not want us to create the impression that Nigeria is a country of fraudulent people, it is not so. When people operate in unregulated environment, they have no restriction, and you are giving an opportunity, it could be abused. What happens in unregulated environments is that people are acting without knowledge of the rules.
We need to understand the terms of regulated competition in business. So many things happen in unregulated aspects of business, you do not know and you are competing with those who know, or the man who is regulating ideas not know, somebody can take advantage of the system
to make money.

What we are doing in Bureau for Public Procurement is make sure it does not happen, we want the market forces to determine those who know the job  in the same environment  do the business and get  value for money.

I want us to see it from that point of view, than looking at fraud as the basis for the action. Some of them are not as a result of what we lost, some of them are just because people are not sure of when they will be paid, if you have ever done job for government, you will know that the process of getting money, is challenging, so if after the first exercise you lose money, next time when you have the opportunity, you will not put the same price.

And when you are bidding for the next job, for somebody who is ready to pay you, as and when do you find out that there is a difference compared somebody whom you are not sure when he is going to pay you." He identified the obstacles to procurement for contracts as the resistance of the elite, who he said have misunderstanding about the benefits of the reforms.
Ezeh said : "There are many obstacles to procurement of contracts for projects and services in Nigeria,  is the resistance by the elite to it, bacause , by the reforms, they are thinking that with the reforms, they are going to lose, the benefits they getting in the decadent order .

The job is not about how much you can save, but more about how many Nigerians are giving opportunity to participate and the value for money that is obtained from an open competition. We have many Nigerians winning bids for contracts the pressure of unemployment will be less, the agitation for people who are idle will be less, so that money will not be left in the hands of a few people, who connive with people in government to steal the funds. It is not so much as to
how much that is saved, but how much opportunity , you  give the other Nigerians to participate and the actual value for money you get from the competition."

Restating why the BPP insists  that not more than 15 per cent should be paid to contractors as mobilization funds, he said : " I expect the young companies to  start small and grow ,  you do not
just set up  a small company and expect   do a contract of one billion naira, there are financial thresholds, ten million twenty million naira , that you can easily raise money from the banks, say about a few million naira and execute it, the beauty of it that it gives you a sense of responsibility, when you earn money , and you are under pressure to make sure you perform, it helps you to deliver it, if you are not under pressure, of somebody's money, you make a mistake you have nothing to lose."

 ENGR. EMEKA EZEH’S INTERVIEW WITH JOURNALIST AT THE EUROPEAN UNION THIRD BUSINESS MEETING AT THE KINGFISHER CLUB, IKOYI, LAGOS RECENTLY. 

How would you assess procurement as an administrative process?

The job is not about how much you can save, but more about how many Nigerians are giving opportunity to participate and the value for money that is obtained  from an open  competition . We have many Nigerians  winning bids for contracts the pressure of unemployment  will be less,the agitation for people who are idle will be less, so that money will not be left in the hands of a few people, who connive with people in government to steal the funds. It is not so much as to how much that is saved, but how much opportunity , you  give the other Nigerians to participate and the actual value for money you get from the competition.

On non release of not more than 15 per cent of mobilisation funds for contract?

 I expect the young companies to  start small and grow ,  you do not just set up  a small company and expect   do a contract of one billion naira, there are financial thresholds, ten million twenty million naira , that you can easily raise money from the banks, say about a few million naira and execute it, the beauty of it that it gives you a sense of responsibility, when you earn money , and you are under pressure to make sure you perform, it helps you to deliver it, if you are not under pressure, of somebody's money, you make a mistake you have nothing to lose.

How much has the country lost through fraudulent contracts and how many people have been so far prosecuted?

I do not want us to create the impression that Nigeria is a country of fraudulent people, it is not so. When people operate in unregulated environment, they have no restriction, and you are giving an opportunity, it could be abused. What happens in unregulated environments is that people are acting without knowledge of the rules. We need to understand the terms of regulated competition in business.

So many things happen in unregulated aspects of business, you do not know and you are competing with those who know, or the man who is regulating ideas not know, somebody can take advantage of the system to make money.

What we are doing in Bureau for Public Procurement is make sure it does not happen, we want the market forces to determine those who know the job  in the same environment  do the business and get  value for money.

I want us to see it from that point of view, than looking at fraud as the basis for the action . Some of them are not as a result of what we lost, some of them are just because people are not sure of when they will be paid, if you have ever done job for government, you will know that the process of getting money, is challenging, so if after the first exercise you loose money, next time when you have the opportunity, you will not put the same price.

And when you are bidding for the next job, for somebody who is ready to pay you, as and when due you find out that  there is a difference compared somebody whom you are not sure when he is going to pay you.

Some contractors are alleging that the bigger contractors are highly networked, that is why they are getting the jobs?

I cannot confirm that allegation, because, what is in the budget, when you do your job and get the certificate you will be paid. After all they got the job and were paid, they went through the process and got the job and were paid. 

Is there any target for the bureau for this year?

I do not want us to look at it from how much we have saved. Rather how many more Nigerians get jobs, without knowing anybody. How many people get jobs without having to know somebody?  If people are not regulated, and they have the opportunity they will take what belongs to people.It is natural, just like banking there are rules just like in all sectors of the economy. 

Hw transparent if the procurement process in Nigeria ? 

Well, that is part of the reasons why we are here, we challenge everybody  that has claims that we are not transparent to make it public. 

What about the prison theory?

The prison theory is that so long there is goverrnment, every Nigerian is a potential criminal, and that the choice is yours through your conduct whether you want to go to prison and you will be free. So long as government exists every Nigeria is a potential prisoner. The system has sanctions for every offender.

What are those obstacles to the full implementation of budget for contract?

That is why we are engaging all stakeholders  involved in  the budget process through the MDAs ,  to improve their processes, so that if they want to engage in huge projects it does not mean the money should be ready in one year, it is good to programme it in the number of years, that the construction will last, such that if we have this understanding, it will be easier, I want to assume that it is true that all Nigerians wish Nigeria well, it is not only in BPP that we have people who love Nigeria, everybody loves this country but we must agree to a common code conduct and behaviour, when issues of common issues arise. Everybody must come to the common understanding of how to handle projects, spending should be based on needs basis. 

What about sanction for erring staff and companies?

Every day, we embark on this, it is an ongoing process, so many.

How many contracts have been so far awarded? 

There are so many contracts, for this year alone, we have a request for 952 contracts, nine were denied and 100 is awaiting information from the ministry. The contracts vary from one billion to up to 20 and 30, 40 billion naira, they are of different categories.