HB 475: Public Procurement Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Bill Analysis:

SHORT TITLE

Public Procurement Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016

OBJECTIVE OF THE BILL

The objective of the Bill is to:

• Replace the Minister of Finance with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Chairman of the National Council on Public Procurement

SCOPE

The analysis of the Bill was done before the Committee consideration and reporting

PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Proposes to amend Section 1(2)(a) which names the Minister of Finance as Chairman by replacing it with “the President of Nigeria as Chairman” of the National Council on Public Procurement (Clause 2)

Clause 3 proposes to amend Section 1(2)(f) by adding “the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyor” as part of the part-time members of the National Council on Public Procurement

Clause 4 proposes to delete Section 1(4) which provides that the President shall appoint the Chairman and members of the National Council of public Procurement, and insert “other members of the council shall be appointed by the President”, removing “the Chairman”

Clause 5 proposes to include confirmation by the National Assembly in the process of selecting a Director-General for the Bureau of Public Procurement as provided under Section 7(1) of the Act

Clause 6 proposes the deletion of Section 12(2), which provides that procurement of special goods, works and services involving defense or national security unless the President expressly approves, and replace it with “Procurements involving national security or defense shall be conducted in line with the provisions of this Act”. It further proposes that the supervision shall be handled by a Special Committee appointed by the Council, which shall be empowered to grant exemptions or waivers from the application.

ANY SIMILAR EXISTING BILL

There are several Public Procurement Act (amendment) Bills before the National Assembly namely - Public Procurement Act 2007 (Amend.) Bill, 2016 sponsored by Hon Oluwole Oke (HB 475); Public Procurement Act (Amend) Bill, 2016 sponsored by Sen. Sam Egwu (SB 232); and Public Procurement Act 2004 (Amend.) Bill sponsored by Hon. Abbas Tajudeen (HB 541). Two other Bills on PPA amendment before the National Assembly are Public Procurement Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill 2016 (SB 238) sponsored by Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe and Public Procurement Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (HB 815).

Each Bill is amending a different section of the Principal Act are at different stages. While SB 232 and HB 475 (see full names above) have been passed at the Senate and House of Representatives respectively, HB 541 sponsored by Hon. Abbas Tajudeen has not yet passed at the House of Reps. The other two (SB 238 & HB 815) are still at first reading stage at the time of this analysis.

CONCLUDING ISSUES

The amendments to Section 1 of the Act seek to replace the Minister of Finance with President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as head of the National Council on Public Procurement and adding the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors as one of the Council’s part-time members. The President already has a constitutional responsibility of presiding over the affairs of government and other duties required of a President and may not perform effectively as head of the National Council on Public Procurement. It is not clear that removal of the Minister of Finance, as the Council’s head will increase the efficiency of the procurement process in Nigeria.

The Act under Section 7 provides for the appointment of the Director-General (DG) of the Bureau of Public Procurement by the President on the recommendation of the Council, however the amendment seeks to include confirmation by the National Assembly to this appointment process. Though there is a correlation between leadership and performance, lengthening the process of appointing a DG is no assurance that a credible candidate will be appointed. In addition, this could delay the appointment of a DG, should the National Assembly fail to confirm the recommended candidate.

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