In a landmark move to strengthen accountability in Nigeria’s public finance system, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at rooting out corruption in the country’s procurement sector.
The pact, signed in Abuja by Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director-General of the BPP, and Afam Osigwe (SAN), President of the NBA, represents a watershed in Nigeria’s efforts to align public procurement practices with global standards of transparency and integrity.
Why This Matters: Procurement as the Gateway of Corruption
Public procurement accounts for nearly 70% of government spending in Nigeria—from infrastructure to healthcare to education. Yet, it is also one of the most corruption-prone sectors, with inflated contracts, bid-rigging, and abuse of due process costing the economy billions annually.
By bringing in the NBA—an institution representing over 120,000 lawyers—the MoU aims to institutionalize legal oversight, professional accountability, and enforceable sanctions across the procurement chain.
Dr. Adedokun underscored this when he declared:
“Procurement is about the law. With the NBA as partner, contract agreements with the Nigerian people will be safeguarded. Capacity building, legal action, and sanctions will now take center stage.”
The Legal Angle: From Policy to Enforcement
For decades, Nigeria’s procurement laws—including the Public Procurement Act (2007)—have provided the framework for competitive bidding and contract transparency. However, weak enforcement has left loopholes.
The NBA’s involvement promises:
- Training lawyers as procurement professionals to deepen capacity within ministries, agencies, and the judiciary.
- Strengthening dispute resolution on procurement contracts, ensuring faster and more credible outcomes.
- Legal watchdogging, ensuring procurement breaches face consequences under both administrative and criminal law.
NBA President, Afam Osigwe, was emphatic:
“Until procurement is transparent and accountable, public funds will continue to leak into private pockets. This partnership is about closing that leak.”
Wider Economic Implications
For investors and the business community, transparent procurement is not just an anti-corruption tool—it is an economic growth driver. Transparent processes reduce cost of projects, attract credible investors, and build public trust in infrastructure delivery.
It also aligns with Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which emphasizes fiscal discipline, efficient public spending, and stronger institutions as anchors of macroeconomic stability.
The BPP–NBA alliance therefore holds promise for:
- Boosting investor confidence in Nigerian public-private partnerships (PPPs).
- Cutting project cost overruns that often cripple infrastructure delivery.
- Improving Nigeria’s ranking in global ease-of-doing-business and corruption perception indices.
BRANDECONOMY Takeaway
This partnership is more than a legal handshake—it is a strategic alignment of Nigeria’s regulatory and professional forces to close one of the biggest leakages in public finance. If implemented with rigour, the BPP–NBA collaboration could redefine procurement as a driver of transparency, efficiency, and economic growth in Nigeria.
The next challenge lies in execution: turning MoUs into enforceable reforms, building institutional muscle, and ensuring that the era of “business as usual” in contract awards truly ends.
