Thursday, 14 January 2016

Senate moves to stop President and FEC from contract awards

THE Senate, yesterday, commenced a process aimed at stopping the President and the Federal Executive Council, FEC, from awarding contracts of any kind in the country.
File:  L-R Minister of Women Affairs Aisha Jummai AL-Hassan, Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalong, Deputy Chief of Staff Mr Ade Ipaye, National Security Adviser Major- Gen. Babagana Monguno, Head of Service of the Federation Winifred Ita-Oyo, Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Engr. Babachir David Lawal and President Muhammadu Buhari during the Federal Executive Council meeting, held at the Presidential Villa on 7th Nov 2015
The legislature said there was no basis for the FEC to award contracts, insisting that the status quo must be changed.
To this end, it passed a resolution, urging President Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, set up what it called the “National Council on Public Procurement, NCPP,” to be saddled with the role of contracts awards.

The Senate said the establishment of such body would give life and meaning to the Public Procurement Act so as to achieve the laudable objectives for which the Act came into being.
The development came following a motion tagged “Urgent need to compel the National Council on Public Procurement of Nigeria,” sponsored by Senator Theodore Orji, PDP, Abia Central and Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South.
The lawmakers said the good intention of the legislature in passing the said act into law was to establish a regulatory authority for monitoring and oversight of public procurement.
They  added that since the passage of the act in 2007, the National Council on Procurement has not been established, adding that without the establishment of the National Council on Procurement, the Procurement Act is as good as dead.
The senators further added that since the  cabinet ministers were in place, it was time for the Federal Government to act, explaining that the setting up of the council will avoid erosion of public confidence in the procurement process.





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