The House of Representatives has decried the low budgetary allocation to the Bureau of Public Procurement, (BPP).
They expressed their displeasure at the budget defense of the Committee on Public Procurement in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital.
The Committee Chairman, Nasir Ahmed, said that considering the enormous responsibilities vested in the BPP, it requires more funding.
He noted that the 58 million naira allocation was inadequate.
“We will liaise with the senate to seek ways to improve the budget of the BPP. We will sit down with the leadership of both chambers to make sure that the issue is addressed. If there are any losers in this underfunding, it is the Nigerian people”. Hon Ahmed said.
He noted that the agency is grossly underfunded.
He said that the committee will intensify its oversight functions with the aim of strengthening the Bureau to build and sustain an efficient procurement system that meets international best practices.
“The House of Representatives and indeed the National Assembly is not only poised to ensure timely passage of annual budgets but also to ensure that budget should have a direct impact on the citizenry and the nation at large. It should impact on the productive capacity of Nigerians with a view to creating wealth and opportunities for all and sundry”. He said.
A member of the Committee, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, said that the most important aspect of the Bureau was monitoring and evaluation and that the bureau was not embarking on trips to monitor projects.
He also said that he was surprised that the director general was not worried about being underfunded.
Members of the committee were unanimous in the agreement that the BPP cannot meet any of its mandates with its allocation.
In his response, the Director General of the Bureau of public procurement, Mr. Mamman Ahmadu, said that only 49% of its 2022 budget has so far been released to the bureau
The Director General said that he has been working within its budget.
He noted that he runs into difficulties sometimes.
“We can’t pretend about this, there is less money and more work. We’ll do the best we can, give the lean resources available for us to work with.’’ Mr. Ahmadu said.
He added that the agency identifies projects that were not performing and focuses its surveillance on them.
Olusola Akintonde
