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FG sets conditions for states on N350bn bailout
The N350billion bailout for the economy being proposed by the Federal Government will be allocated strictly after carrying out a need-based analysis.
The Federal Government had recently announced that it will release N350 billion in the last month of the first quarter of 2016 to kick start economic activities in the country.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Engr. Babachir David Lawal, gave this hint on Thursday while addressing contractors and procurement officers at the Second National Conference on Public Procurement (NACOPP) organised by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
According to him, this became inevitable in view of the paucity of funds.
Lawal said: “The government attaches a great deal of importance to procurement which is a vehicle through which government must deliver on the infrastructure promised to the people. So it cannot afford to ignore what is going on in the procurement system.”
Read also: CBN to raise N219bn in Treasury bills
The SGF added that “the current administration has promised change to Nigerians, without setting limits to where its policies and programmes will make an impact. But we know that when the dividends of democracy flourish, it benefits all.”
Government, he said, is confident that the states stand to benefit from a public procurement system that is transparent, competitive, and efficient and one that is founded on accountability.
The Acting Director, African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr Andoh Mensah, in his goodwill message observed that Nigeria’s public procurement needs to be updated to cover government procurement of security and defence contracts which are areas susceptible to abuse and corrupt practices.
He noted that globally, procurement accounts for a substantial portion of national budget, but in Nigeria, “aggregate government procurement is about $40 billion annually, hence the public expects the governments to carry it out efficiently and with high standards of conduct in order to ensure high quality of service delivery, value for money and safeguard the public funds.”
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