Nigeria’s Public Procurement Law- Puissant Issues and Projected Amendments

Abstract

The Public Procurement Act 2007 brought a sense of regulation or framework to the procurement process in Nigeria. Preceding this law, Nigerian public procurement was not formally regulated in the sense that there was no law, which governed procurement at the federal or State level. This paper examined the various parts and sections of the PPA Act 2007 towards identifying major loopholes of the Act, as it may allow one party to circumvent the Act's intention without actually breaking that law. Some identified loopholes included ambiguity in the qualification criteria of a procurement manager, non-inclusion of the AEC professional on the National Council on Public Procurement, its failure to provide methods for dispute resolution etc. Meanwhile, some challenges militating against the implantation of the PPA Act 2007 identified were the absence of strong and compelling institutions, pervading corruption that has become Nigeria socio-cultural value, citizen’s refusal to demand accountability etc. Although some provisions of the PPA Act were amended in 2009 by the Nigerian Senate, some other vital amendments were proposed to the relevant authorities for evaluation and legislation. The findings of this research provide instrument and ideas that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nigeria’s procurement process.

Keywords: Public Procurement Act 2007, PPA Challenges, PPA Loopholes, PPA Amendments, Nigeria.