The House of Representatives yesterday decried the low budgetary allocation to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and called for its increase.
The agency’s director general, Mr. Mamman Ahmadu, who appeared before the House Committee on Public Procurement, said N58 million was allocated to it for capital in the 2023 budget proposal.
The committee’s chairman, Nasir Ali Ahmed, noted that considering the enormous responsibilities vested on the BPP, it required more funding to function effectively.
He said: “I believe that for the economic growth of any country, it must have the procurement processes well planned. Now, with N58 million as the capital for 2023 budget for BPP, I really don’t understand how the agency, which is very important to economic and structural growth of this country, could be allocated just a mere amount of N58 million.”
“We just complained about N28 million not being enough for surveillance and monitoring of projects. Now, the capital budget has been cut down from last year – from N197 million to N58 million in 2023. It is something I believe we should look at as a committee because it does not make sense.
“We will liaise with the senate to seek ways to improve on the budget of the BPP. We will sit down with the leadership of both Chambers to make sure that the issue is addressed. If there are any losers in this underfunding, it is the Nigerian people.”
Ahmed said the committee would intensify its oversight functions with the aim of strengthening the bureau to build and sustain an efficient procurement system that meets international best practices.
“The House of Representative, and indeed, the National Assembly, are not only poised to ensure timely passage of annual budgets but also to ensure that budget should have direct impact on the citizenry and the nation at large. It should impact the productive capacity of Nigerians with a view to creating wealth and opportunities for all and sundry,” he said.
Members of the committee agreed that the BPP cannot meet any of its mandates with the current paltry allocation.
They noted that as an agency that supervises projects that run into trillions of naira, the BPP must be properly mobilised to carry out its duties effectively.
Responding, Ahmadu said only 49 per cent of its 2022 budget had been released.
On how he coped with underfunding, the DG said he had been working within the limits of the budget allocation, making the agency to run into difficulties sometimes.
“We can’t pretend about this. There is less money and more work. We will do the best we can, given the lean resources available for us to work with,” Ahmadu said.