Due to alleged violations of the agency’s rules, a non-governmental organisation has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to annul all certifications of no objection issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) since 2007.
The NGO informed the court in a new lawsuit brought by its attorney, Timilehin Odunwo, that it operates under the authority of the Registered Trustees of Network for the Actualization Of Social Growth and Viable Development (NAFGAD).
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a certificate of no objection is a document that attests that the proper procedures were followed during the contract procurement process, particularly at a national or subnational level.
The group sued the president, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the BPP, and its director-general as the first through fourth respondents in its original summons, which was marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1056/2023.
NAFGAD claimed in the lawsuit dated August 1 and submitted August 2 that the BPP’s National Council on Public Procurement (NCPP) had never been formed in violation of applicable laws since the BPP was founded in 2007.
The organisation charged that the BPP was acting independently, unchecked, and in accordance with the establishment act when making decisions.
It argued that if the NCPP were not constitutional, corruption would spread across the government, harming society as a whole.
The agency proceeded to provide certificates of no objection to procurement firms without resorting to the National Council’s norms, it claimed, in accordance with its mission, despite its letters to the AGF and the BPP over the allegedly unlawful act being ignored.
Therefore, the group requested six reliefs, including “a declaration that the President of Nigeria’s non-constitution of the National Council on Public Procurement amounts to a violation of Section 1 (1&4) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.”
“It is therefore declared that, in accordance with Sections 2 and 6(1) of the Procurement Act of 2007, all certificates of no objection issued over time by the Bureau of Public Procurement since 2007 until the present are null and void.
“A declaration that Section 7(1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, was completely violated and completely disregarded in the appointment of the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a result, the appointment was unlawful.
“An order of the Honourable Court directing the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s President to establish the National Council on Public Procurement in order to name the Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement.
“An order of this Honourable Court prohibiting the Bureau of Public Procurement from further issuing certificate of no-objection to any government agency, parastatals, or person until the National Council on Public Procurement is constituted,” among other things.
The matter has not yet been given to a judge for decision-making. (NAN)
