The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has proposed N72.7 billion budget increase for 2025, resulting in approximately 2,040% increase from the N3.3 billion allocated to the Agency in the proposed budget. Hence the Agency seeks 22 times higher budget than what was allocated in the year under review.
Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), made the statement when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement to defend the Bureau’s 2024 budget performance and 2025 proposal.
Adedokun said the proposed budget primarily focuses on addressing its office accommodation challenge, which takes about 80% of the proposed budget; addresses monitoring and evaluation of projects throughout the nation, and delivers an electronic procurement system to the Country as well as build capacity.
He decried that the budgetary ceiling placed on the Agency would hamper this objective among other strategies it plans to adopt to improve the system. According to him, accomodation is a pressing challenge as the current office is riddled with rodents.
He added, “We also realise that we need to also intensify our audit exercise. It is better to prevent than to prosecute. Under our watch our strategy is to ensure we prevent misuse of funds through real time IT tools in procurement audit.
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“We want to go digital in terms of our workflow, which means even if DG is not on seat, certification can be done anywhere in the country. We also provided for an upgrade of our national database of contractors and service providers. Under the 2025 budget, it would no longer be business as usual. We will be categorizing contractors meaning that contractors of equal competence must bid for projects within their funding capacity”.
He explained that procurement if effectively used could promote good governance, reduce corruption and poverty, and increase employment.
The Director General further said BPP has the capacity to contribute significantly to the GDP of the Country through the innovations it would bring on board.
On the 2024 budget performance, he said a total sum of N2.2 billiin was allocated out of which N2.1 billion was utilised. He added that only N184, 024,690 of the sum for capital expenditure had so far been released.
Unyime Idem, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement, while noting that the budget was too small, assured that the National Assembly would consider the proposed increase.
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