Govt probes breaches of Public Procurement Act, to send offenders to jail

The acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has vowed that civil servants found to have breached the 2007 Procurement Act in award of contracts and procurement processes will be sent to jail.

Magu stated this following the Federal Government order for the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Ofences Commission (ICPC) to investigate cases of infractions against the Public Procurement Act, 2007, with the aim of punishing any civil servant found to have colluded with contractors to subvert the Act.

He said, “For us everybody has a duty to fight corruption. I want to warn that only strict adherence to 2007 Procurement Act will save you from jail term.

“Nothing will stop us in the fight against corruption, nothing. I say nothing, nothing at all. Nobody can stop the fight, it has come to stay and we are determined.”

He said this in his remarks at the 2018 Procurement Retreat for Chief Executive Officers of Federal Government agencies and parastatals in Abuja, weekend.

Speaking earlier, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, who hinted of the order to EFCC and ICPC to probe infractions of the Public Procurement Act, vowed that any CEO found to have conspired with contractors to sideline the procurement process and procedures contrary to the act, would be dealt with.

“The ICPC and the EFCC are currently investigating cases of infractions which is against the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2007, with the hope of punishing any civil servant found to have colluded with contractors to subvert the rules of the Act.

“Any CEO who defaults or colludes with contractors or found to sideline the procurement process and procedure, contrary to the provisions of the PPA, 2007 would be sanctioned,” SGF said.

The SGF was represented by Permanent Secretary for General Services in the Office of the SGF, Olusegun Adekunle.

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The retreat was put together by Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and was entitled, “Public Procurement for Sustainable National Development.”

According to Mustapha, the Federal Government had ordered all its agencies and parastatals to adhere strictly to the 2007 Procurement Act in contracting projects. He added that CEOs of the parastatals, being the accounting officers of implementing agencies, had a crucial role to play in national infrastructure development, building skills and competencies that were critical for the execution of transparent and efficient public procurement that guarantees good value for money.

 

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