The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajiabiamila, has heaped praise on the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, for helping to block loopholes through which the country would have been fleeced of N1.7 trillion on account of procurement processes.
He said the funds were saved between 2009 and 2022.
Gbajiabiamila made the revelation on Thursday after conducting an assessment tour of some agencies under the supervision of the State House earlier.
He assured that the act establishing BPP will undergo a review process that will make it meet international best practices, and reduce corruption, red tape and bureaucracy.
The Chief of Staff made the remarks while responding to a presentation by BPP’s acting Director-General, Olusegun Omotola.
“I commend the BPP for saving the federal government some N1.7 trillion from 2009-2022 by blocking loopholes that would have been exploited during procurement.
”We will also look at the staff remuneration and why there has not been a review over the years, especially when compared with sister agencies like Debt Management Office, whose remuneration and salary structure have been reviewed a couple of times over the years,” the Chief of Staff said in response to a request by BPP’s acting DG.
Gbajabiamila, who was a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the 2025 budget for State House agencies will be based on a thorough needs assessment to ensure that funding allocated to agencies is based on actual requirements.
He revealed that a sister agency, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, remitted over N1 trillion in proceeds to the Federal Government since 1999 and emphasised the need for improvement.
”We are ready to work with you to make you achieve your mandate optimally,” Gbajabiamila assured.
The BPE Director-General, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, disclosed that the agency had received N93.4 billion from privatisation projects in the first and second quarters of 2024, though this fell short of the revised expected revenue of N259.7 billion.
BPP saves N1.7trn from fraudulent procurement processes — Gbajabiamila