The Bureau of Public Procurement has announced plans to blacklist contractors who violate procurement rules as part of efforts to strengthen accountability and curb abuses in public contracting nationwide.

The Director-General of the BPP, Adebowale Adedokun, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday during the inaugural Procurement Evolution Day held to mark 19 years of procurement reforms in Nigeria.

Adedokun said the bureau had introduced a debarment policy that would sanction and blacklist defaulting contractors both within and outside Nigeria.

He said, “The government has indeed provided a policy of debarment to strictly sanction any contractors nationally and globally.”

The BPP boss said the measure formed part of a wider procurement reform agenda aimed at improving transparency, enforcing compliance and protecting public resources from abuse.

According to him, the bureau recently received approval to handle cases involving contract violations and fraudulent claims, while strengthening collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, civil society organisations and professional bodies.

“Only recently, we have received, for the first time, direct approval to BPP to carry out all issues of contract violation and fraudulent claims,” he said.

Adedokun said the bureau had also introduced a 14-working-day standstill period to resolve contractual disputes before projects proceed to execution.

“We’ve now provided a standstill period of 14 working days, wherein all issues in contractual disputes must be resolved,” he stated.

He disclosed that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies would henceforth be required to publish contract awards monthly and submit quarterly performance reports as part of measures to improve transparency.

“In order to ensure projects are implemented in accordance with the terms of contracts, we have agreed that all MDAs must publish all contracts on their websites and on the website of BPP every month and must forward quarterly reports,” he said.

The BPP chief also revealed that the bureau was developing a national procurement transformation strategy that would serve as a roadmap for procurement reforms across federal, state and local governments.

He said the bureau had deployed digital platforms to automate procurement processes and reduce human interference, adding that hard-copy submissions had largely been phased out.

“In the last one year, we no longer receive hard copies of requests. Now, it is direct transmission digitally to the Bureau of Public Procurement,” he said.

Adedokun noted that more than 4,000 procurement officers had been registered nationwide under a centralised database, enabling the bureau to track procurement professionals and strengthen oversight.

He added that the Federal Government’s Nigeria First policy was being expanded to prioritise indigenous businesses in sectors including automobiles, textiles, information technology, renewable energy and agriculture.

According to him, the policy has already begun to yield results in the automobile sector, where public institutions are being encouraged to procure locally assembled vehicles.

The BPP director-general further disclosed that the bureau had developed policies to reserve portions of government procurement for women-owned businesses, startups, vulnerable groups and local communities.

He said specialised procurement frameworks were also being developed for sectors such as infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, education and information technology to improve efficiency and project delivery.

Adedokun stated that procurement officers now operate under stricter accountability measures following the return of career management responsibilities to the bureau.

He added that sanctions would be imposed on procurement officers who breach provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

The BPP boss also said six universities were currently offering undergraduate programmes in sustainable procurement, environment and social standards to deepen professional capacity in the sector.

Meanwhile, a former Director-General of the BPP and guest speaker at the event, Dr Emeka Ezeh, urged the government to strengthen contract management, enforce sanctions for procurement violations and improve project monitoring.

Ezeh, who reviewed the evolution of procurement reforms from the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit to the establishment of the BPP in 2007, said many of the problems that prompted procurement reforms, including contract manipulation, poor project monitoring and budget distortions, still required sustained attention.

He warned that delays In contract payments often increase project costs, as contractors factor inflation and payment risks into their bids.

The former BPP chief also called for greater collaboration among procurement agencies, anti-corruption bodies and civil society groups to ensure that procurement reforms continue to support transparency, value for money and national development.

He said public procurement remained a critical tool for reducing corruption, improving service delivery and ensuring efficient use of public funds.

The PUNCH earlier reported that the Centre for Public Accountability earlier said reforms introduced by the Bureau of Public Procurement, particularly measures targeted at inflated contract costs and procurement leakages, have saved the Federal Government an estimated N1.1tn. (The PUNCH)