The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP)
boss, Mr Yahaya Ishaku has warned that contractors involved in
falsification of contracts and other violations of Public Procurement
Act risk 10-year jail term.
Ishaku, who is the Director,
Compliance, Certification and Monitoring in BPP, gave the warning at
the closing of a three-day training for government personnel on
corruption in public procurement.
The training with the theme “Fighting
Corruption in Public Procurement” was organised by the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with funding from the European
Union.
The participants were officials of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt
Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), BPP and the
media from Lagos, Edo, Enugu, Rivers, Oyo and the Federal Capital
Territory.
Ishaku said that falsification of
contract documents, conspiracy or collusion, bribery and other
violations under Section 58 of the Act were criminal offences.
According to him, for contractors, it
is a jail term of nothing less than five years but not exceeding 10
years.
“For the director of any company
found guilty of such violation, it is a jail term of nothing less
than three years and not exceeding five years without option of fine.
“The company that is found guilty
will also pay a fine of 25 per cent of the value of that procurement
and it will be banned from public procurement for a minimum of five
years.’’
Ishaku also warned that public
officials risked being jailed if found wanting in the procurement
process.
He explained that “if a public
officer is involved in a criminal offence, it is a jail term of
nothing less than five years.
“This is without option of fine and
there is summary dismissal from service.
“If the implementers of the law do
not carry out their mandate properly, they stand the risk of
violating the act and going to jail.
“Collusion, for instance, is a
situation where bidders come together and collude in a way that the
cost of procurement is higher than what it should be under normal
competitive bidding, if proven is an offence.
“Also bid rigging is where procuring
entities like Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) do
everything with a particular contractor in mind.
“So, if a procuring entity does
everything to ensure a particular contractor is awarded contract, it
is rigging and is punishable.
“There are many other criminal
offences that are listed in Section 58 of the act.’’
On the training, the director said that
it was a rare opportunity for investigators to be better equipped
towards adequately investigating cases of corruption in public
procurement.
He pointed out that the training
afforded participants the chance to be more acquainted with
provisions of the Procurement Act and how to figure out suspected
violations of the law.
He stressed that it was only when
investigators were accustomed to procurement procedures that they
would be able to investigate properly. (NAN)
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