NRS backs procurement reforms to curb abandoned projects

The Nigeria Revenue Service has pledged financial and technical support for the Bureau of Public Procurement’s proposed overhaul of the Public Procurement Act 2007 to reduce abandoned government projects and improve accountability in public spending.

The Executive Chairman of the NRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, made the commitment on Tuesday during a strategic engagement with the Director-General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, and his delegation at the NRS headquarters in Abuja.

Adedeji said the revenue agency would support the procurement reforms with personnel, funding and expertise gained from Nigeria’s recent tax reforms.

“I am also publicly promising that we will not only give you human resources, but God’s will, we will provide financial resources,” he said.

He explained that improving government procurement would encourage voluntary tax compliance by demonstrating that public revenue was being spent effectively.

“Anytime I see abandoned projects, I see it as tax collected and being wasted, because it is either paid from the tax collected or the loan that we’ve taken that we’ll use tax to pay in the future,” Adedeji said.

He argued that government projects financed through borrowing ultimately imposed obligations on taxpayers, making their completion essential to protecting public resources.

The NRS chairman questioned whether procurement provisions introduced under different economic conditions remained appropriate, particularly restrictions on advance payments and contract approval limits.

He commended the BPP for facilitating the completion of the NRS headquarters despite procurement challenges and directed officials to establish a technical committee to support the proposed legislative amendments.

Adedeji maintained that visible improvements in infrastructure and public services would strengthen public confidence in tax administration.

Also speaking, Adedokun disclosed that the bureau was pursuing at least 29 procurement reforms that would require amendments to the existing legislation.

“We are undertaking for the first time in history of this country, we are undertaking not less than 29 reforms in procurement,” he said.

“The current state of Procurement Act cannot accommodate the 29 minimum reforms,” he added.

The BPP director-general said the proposed changes included electronic procurement, community-based contracting, sector-specific procurement procedures and preferential access for women, youths, persons with disabilities and military veterans.

Under the proposed community-based arrangement, businesses would be able to compete for smaller government contracts within their localities rather than travelling to Abuja.

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Adedokun said the proposed electronic procurement system would digitise processes from assessment to payment while improving the collection of applicable taxes at source.

He disclosed that the bureau had launched a digital capacity-building platform for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to him, existing procurement procedures apply similar requirements across different sectors, creating difficulties for projects with distinct technical needs.

He also defended the Federal Government’s earlier revision of procurement approval thresholds, saying chief executives could now approve certain contracts below N10bn and goods and services contracts below N5bn, subject to applicable procedures.

Adedokun attributed some abandoned projects to rigid interpretations of procurement regulations, citing the NRS headquarters as an example of how procedural flexibility within the law could facilitate project completion.

He disclosed that the BPP had also intervened in the long-abandoned headquarters project of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate its completion.

The director-general warned government agencies against bypassing procurement requirements, stressing the importance of obtaining the bureau’s certificate of no objection where required.

He further called for a comprehensive national contractors’ database to strengthen tax compliance and prevent revenue leakages.

“We are not after lowest cost, but after value for money,” Adedokun said, explaining that the bureau sometimes approved higher-priced bids where they offered better outcomes.

He also sought NRS support for professional training, the proposed amendments and the expansion of the BPP’s institutional presence across the country.

The Group Director, Support Service Group of the NRS, Kunle Ogidi, said the bureau had assisted the revenue agency with procurement documentation, compliance training and project execution.

“Countless times, the bureau has sent their officers to come and teach and tutor us on how to go about some of these processes,” Ogidi said.

He explained that the engagement would enable both agencies to identify procurement challenges that the proposed legislation could address.

The PUNCH also learnt that some NRS personnel had undergone procurement training and certification, while the service had submitted recommendations on the proposed amendments to the National Assembly.