By Nurat Uthman
In a move to enhance fiscal responsibility and transparency in government spending, President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive review of the Public Procurement Act.
The directive was issued during a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, told State House correspondents after the FEC meeting that the President’s decision stemmed from a desire to reconcile discrepancies between the Appropriation Act, Public Procurement Law, and Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).
To this end, he said a committee chaired by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice has been established to spearhead the review process.
He said, “President Bola Tinubu today in line with the desire to enhance more fiscal discipline and further demonstrate to Nigerians our commitment to serving them better, raised the issue of the reconciliation between the Appropriation Act, Public Procurement Law and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“The FEC has set up a committee under the chairmanship of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to review the Public Procurement Act.
“However, after a robust discussion, the President directed that all ministries, departments and agencies should review their intended procurement as provided for in the appropriation such that where there are gaps between appropriated sums and sums required to execute the projects, that can be brought to the attention of both the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and Federal Ministry of Finance, such that the memo that the cabinet secretariat will provide to the FEC will have clarity of where funding is expected to come from and recommendation so as to guide effectively the Federal Executive Council decision.
“President directed that the report of the Public Procurement Committee be provided to him so that he can take decisions accordingly,” the Minister added.
