Reps pass PPA amendment Act, relieves Finance Minister of key role

Indict Anyim, former minister, other over centenary project
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill for an Act to amend the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2007. Speaker, Yakubu Dogara who presided over sitting said the Act was aimed at sanitising the country’s business environment.

He explained that the legislation would enhance the ease of doing business in the country by ensuring that Nigeria has value for money through smoother implementation of budgets as passed by the National Assembly.

Major highlights of the amendment was the removal of the Minister of Finance as Chairman of the National Council on Public Procurement (NCPP), a position that would be replaced with a nominee of the President and the introduction of a new section 1(2)(a).

Dogara argued that the amendment was based on the fact that the finance ministry which is a procurement entity cannot sit on procurement matters that may concern it.

Explaining the rationale behind the amendment, Dogara said the extant provision runs contrary to “the principle of natural justice, where cannot be a judge in his own matter.”

The House in section 35(1) also increased mobilisation fee from 15 to 50 percent or more for contractors and suppliers as may be prescribed by the Bureau, while section 35(3) prescribes a two-year jail term for any person who accesses mobilisation fee and fails to carry out the services or works commensurate to the fee paid

Section 25 (3) of the law shortened the time provided in the bill for emergency procurement activity to ensure timely execution but “the procurement entity acting with respect to paragraph (i) of this section shall notify the Bureau within seven days of such action.”

Similarly, the new law provides for the establishment of Parastatal Tenders Board in each Federal ministry, extra-ministerial department and all agencies of government.

Dogara called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill as soon as it was transmitted to him.

In a related development, the House yesterday adopted the report of the House Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on the probe of the Centenary City project.

The report indicted former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, former Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed and the directors of Centenary City Plc, Paul Oki and Boma Ozobia for their roles in the Centenary City project.

They therefore, called for the prosecution of the officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

Meanwhile, failure of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to auction goods allegedly seized over time from smugglers yesterday angered members of the House of Representatives, who called for the immediate investigation of the development.

In motion by Hon. Prestige Ossy, the lawmakers mandated the House Committee on Customs and Excise to investigate the reasons for not auctioning the impounded goods and report back in eight weeks.