BPP releases list of errant firms of 2014 budget procurement this month

The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) will this month disclose names of blacklisted companies that flouted the procurement process in 2014.

The bureau compiles and releases annually list of companies that defaulted in the procurement process as well as those whose names have been sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and possible prosecution.

In 2013 alone, over 50 names of companies were forwarded to the EFCC for procuring contracts with fake documentation.

Of the over N1.2 trillion earmarked for capital expenditure in 2014, only N610 billion was released as the Federal Government wound down the implementation of the N4.964 trillion budget on December 31.

2014 was a difficult year for Nigeria’s budget. Shrinking oil revenue occasioned by frequent pipeline vandalism, falling oil prices and under-remittance by some revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) seriously delayed releases and as such slowed down budget implementation. There was also the issue of the inability of most spending agencies to utilise capital releases to them, Bright Okogu, director general of the Budget Office had told BusinessDay.

Emeka Ezeh, director general of the bureau, however, said the identities of the erring companies would be made public after a meeting with all the permanent secretaries across the nation in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The meeting starts January 9.

“We will release the results by this January….We are having a retreat with the permanent secretaries between January 9 and 13 in Uyo and by that time we will release all the data, the year has ended, we have to collect all the data before we can make it public”, he said.

N400 billion was released for the first and second quarter capital expenditure, while about N210 billion was released for the third quarter and no releases yet for the fourth quarter of 2014, apart from other releases for programmes like the Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE-P). Recurrent expenditure went on track even though salaries were delayed for some months.

Of the N268.37 billion budgeted for projects under the Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE -P) window, about N208.3 billion was released, out of which 77.6 percent was utilised for various job creation initiatives and infrastructure projects across the country.

The director general, however, noted that some of the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) complied with the capital components of the budget.

He noted that the bureau had actually encountered some recurring challenges in the 2014 procurement process in spite of its efforts at sensitising the MDAs.

“The challenge basically is not starting the procurement process on time in spite of the repeated demands and SGF’s circular for them to start, even for 2015 we have issued a circular for them to start early, so that whenever the budget is passed and concluded you conclude the procurement process and award the contracts. But many at times, in spite of that, a lot of them still don’t. Some agencies will claim they did not see the circular, the circular will be passed on to the ministry and it doesn’t get down to the agencies.”