Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road: BPP to present documents to investigators

The newly appointed Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, said he was ready to present the procurement documents of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road to investigators if called upon to do so.

He said this on Monday in Abuja at a press conference attended by Chief Executive Officers of the nation’s anti-graft agencies.

He also said that the bureau would review and develop a new revised Standard Bidding Documents (SBD) for fairness and competitive procurement process.

He said the organisation would work with the World Bank and other development partners on the Methodology for Assessing Procurement System (MAPS).

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When asked on whether or not the contract of the project followed laid-down procurement regulations, the BPP boss said that he was constrained by the fact that the matter was before a law court and therefore could not freely comment on it.

He said that the organisation has set a 21-day maximum turn-around period for procurement applications for approvals from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), commencing from 2025.

The BPP boss also said that key priorities for 2025 would include leveraging technology and automation for greater efficiency in the procurement process.

He said he would deepen partnerships with anti-corruption agencies, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), professional bodies, and development partners to achieve world-class procurement processes in the country and that he would train Federal Permanent Secretaries, CEOs, Legal Officers, Procurement Officers, members of the National Assembly, and the Judiciary.

He assured that the BPP would strengthen its oversight functions by implementing categorisation and classification systems for contractors and consultants; conducting procurement audits and providing periodic reports to the Presidency.

He said sanctions for bad behaviour, incentives for good conduct would be paramount and under his watch, the BPP will work closely with sister anti-corruption agencies to ensure that abuse of public office is sanctioned.