Former president brought in reforms 10 years ago, but corruption persists
DAKAR (TrustLaw) – Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for civil servants, ministers and politicians who violate the country’s public procurement laws to be jailed, the Nigerian Tribune reported this week.
Obasanjo was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the public procurement reforms he initiated while head of state in a bid to fight rampant corruption in the West African nation.
“Once sanctions are implemented through imprisonment... it should serve as a deterrent to others,” the former leader said. “Breaches without sanctions, combinations of culprits and shortcuts are sure ways to kill reforms and make the law useless,” he added.
Governance experts say Nigeria's public procurement system is prone to corrupt practices, with up to 45 percent of companies expecting to give gifts to public officials to secure government contracts. State agencies often impose fees, licences, fines and taxes arbitrarily.
Some businesses have even said they avoid posting signs that identify their factories, claiming they might tempt corrupt officials to stop by and solicit bribes.
The Nigerian authorities set up a Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) and enacted legislation - the Public Procurement Act of 2007 - in order to combat such malpractices.
“We have tried to introduce manuals. We have tried to break down the level of impunity that used to attend public procurement in Nigeria by ensuring that anybody who goes against the law will one way or another be brought to his attention first and foremost,” Emeka Ezeh, the BPP’s director general, said at the ceremony.
The bureau has audited several government agencies and handed over the files to the country’s anti-graft agencies for investigation and prosecution, he added.
Nigeria’s current President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to purge the public procurement process of all forms of corruption.
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