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BPP DG’s Tenure Extension Illegal, Failed Due Process

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BPP DG’s Tenure Extension Illegal, Failed Due Process

By Mohammed Bougei Attah

The recent disclosure by the Leadership Newspaper of October 31, 2013 that the tenure of the current Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Engr. Emeka Ezeh expired in January this year and the subsequent rejoinder credited to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), as published in the same newspaper on November 1, 2013 to disprove that story is something that should worry Nigerians about the current government.

There is also a presumption in law that, where there is no evidence to the contrary, things are presumed to have been rightly and properly done. This is expressed in the Latin maxim omnia praesumuntur rite esse acta. This presumption is commonly resorted to and applied especially with respect to official Acts – Shitta-Bey v AG Fed (1998) CLR 9(a) (SC).

While it is a fact that the late President Shehu Musa Yar’Adua appointed the present Director General of the Bureau with effect from July 27, 2007 in acting position, he was however illegally confirmed on January 29, 2009 for another four (4) years expiring by midnight of 22nd January 2013. By this, the tenure scaled above the statutory four years tenure prescribed in the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007.

The word duly extended as used by the Office of the SGF demonstrates lack of adequate knowledge of governance system. As a fact, the tenure was illegally and not dully extended as it did not follow due process of law. In other words, the term ‘Duly Extended’ cannot stand the content of provisions of the laws on the appointment of the DG. It is therefore important first to draw the attention of the public to this abuse in public offices.

The appointment or renewal of tenure of the Director General of BPP and their other principal staff is a POLITICAL Appointment but STATUTORY requirement which is to be performed by the President and the National Council of Public Procurement (NCPP) as prescribed by law. While the Council appoints the Principal Officers, it also conducts competitive selection process and makes recommendation to President for consent and approval. Thus the power of the President to appoint or renew the appointment of the Director General of BPP is derived from Section 7(1) of PPA and read together with Section 5(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the appointment is strictly based on the recommendation of the Council after a competitive selection process.

Since the elongated tenure approved by late President Yaradua and inherited by President Jonathan expired by midnight of January 22 2013, the question now is whether it is proper or constitutional for President Jonathan to appoint a substantive Director General for BPP with effect from or to renew the illegal tenure of the Director General for another four years without the inauguration of the National Council on Public Procurement, that is required by law to advertise the position for a competitive selection process? The answer of course is NO.
The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Ogbonna V AG of Imo State(1992) CLR 2(b) on the 7th on February 1992 that non observance of a statutory provision on a substantive issue is not capable of being waived and when such non observance occurs, it renders the act illegal, null and void and of no effect.

Section 7(1) of PPA states unambiguous the procedure for the appointment of a DG for the Bureau. It states clearly that “There shall be for the Bureau, a Director-General who shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Council after competitive selections” This therefore means that the DG of BPP as envisaged by law, cannot emerge before the NCPP. And the minimum qualifications established by law for the post of DG are also clearly contained in the PPA and other extant laws. The candidate is required to 1. Hold adequate professional qualification in procurement for a minimum of 15 years (see 7(2) (c) of PPA; 2. Also simultaneously hold relevant professional qualification in procurement for a minimum of 15 years (see 7(2) (C) of PPA; 3. Also simultaneously, be a member of CIPSMN qualified by examination (see 11(9) of CIPSMN Act 2007), 4. The CIPSMN Act also specified in Part IV Section 8 and Part V section 2 (b) (ii) that foreign trained professionals in Procurement who wish to practice in Nigeria are required to “within 12 months after the commencement of the Act, seek registration with the Institute to become members” and Section 5 of CIPSMN Act also confirm that such enrolment shall be after passing prescribed examination conducted by CIPSMN Nigeria.

Section 16(1) of PPA (under the Fundamental Principles for Procurement) states that ‘Subject to the prior review thresholds as may from time to time be set by the Bureau and pursuant to Section 7 (1).

This implies that if there is no DG appointed in accordance with section 7(1), procurement processes are not required to take place. A Court of competent jurisdiction thus may easily quash any administrative decisions of BPP on Bidders and MDAs in dispute on account of improper constitution of BPP /NCPP as required by law.

The order of Certiorari as we know, is basically an order which a court of superior record issues (in this case, the Federal High Court) or makes in the exercise of its supervisory jurisdiction and directed to inferior courts, tribunals or bodies entrusted with judicial or quasi-judicial functions in order to keep them within the limits of jurisdiction allowed to them by the enabling laws. The order of certiorari removes proceedings into the High Court for the purpose of being quashed. In the case of BPP this extends to any judgment, order or decision, made by them in respect of any dispute on procurement proceedings between Bidders and MDAs or between two bidders in any MDA, pursuant to Section 54 of PPA.

The above therefore implies that in line with the principles laid down in the case of Gabriel Madukolu & Ors vs Jonathan Nkemdilim (1962 1 All Nlr 1 and restated in the Case of Babale Vs Abdulkadir (1993) 3 NWLR (PT. 281) page 253, BPP will have no legal jurisdiction to take administrative decisions that will be binding on Bidders and MDAs in dispute without the proper constitution of NCPP and BPP as required by law.

It is on record that the two legislative chambers of the National Assembly are fully aware of this cases and illegality when they declared the Office of the DG of the Bureau and the activities of the Bureau illegal in July this year. Nigerians have not been informed of a reversal of this resolution. That virtue of the provisions of Section 4(2)(4)(a) and (b) read together with Part I, schedule 49 of the 1999 constitution, the National Assembly used the powers vested in them by the constitution to declare Purchasing and Supply (including Procurement, logistics, stores management, warehousing, supply) as a Professional occupation and established the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) as the only body to determine required standards of knowledge, who is a professional in the field and to regulate the license for practicing purchasing and supply in Nigeria.

On the basis of the above submissions, it important to advise the President once again to constitutes and inaugurates the National Council on Public Procurement in accordance with Section 1 of the Public Procurement Act 2007, to help in promoting good governance especially in the economy, especially power, security, electoral process, security, infrastructure, and to encourage the fight against corruption.

Also, the National Council on Public Procurement so constituted should recommend to the President for appointment, an Acting Director General of BPP while advertising the position for Substantive appointment in accordance with Sections 7 (1), 7 (2)(c) of the Public Procurement Act and Section 11(9) of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management Act 2007. This will promote rule of law and due process in a procurement economy and also encourage the use of procurement technocrats and professionals as obtained in international best practices to improve budget implementation
Attah, National Coordinator, Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative
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Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative (PRADIN) PRADIN is a select group of civil society actors trained under the Federal Government of Nigeria Economic Reforms and Governance Program (ERGP) with funding from the World Bank. The project was conceived by the Office of the Adviser to the President on Relations with Civil Society and with technical support from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN)

Iran Jails Editor Over Offensive Article

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Iran Jails Editor Over Offensive Article

Editor of Bahar, an Iranian reformist newspaper, Saeed Pourazizi, has been jailed for publishing an article on Shia Islam deemed offensive by authorities.

The ISNA news agency quoted Pourazizi’s wife, Masoumeh Shahriari, as saying her husband was summoned to court but was taken to jail instead.

She said authorities have demanded bail in exchange for his release.

The week preceding Pourazizi’s arrest, the government had banned Bahar because of an article authorities said questioned Shia Islam’s beliefs about the Prophet Mohammed’s appointed successor.

Shia Islam is the official religion of Iran.

The daily had issued an apology, saying publishing the article was an “unintentional mistake” and it had temporarily suspended activities to “ease the tensions”.

Culture Minister, Ali Janati, said the article “foments religious conflicts” and that the daily had received earlier warnings.

Bahar and several other reformist dailies, notably Shargh, only resumed publication at the end of 2012 after a ban lasting several years.

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, the country’s judiciary chief said his department will “act with determination against those who falsify the history and try to undermine the fundamentals of the regime”.

APC Blames Gov Obi For Anambra Stampede

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The All Progressives Congress, APC, has blamed the governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, for the death of some 30 crusaders in a stampede early Saturday morning in Uke, Idemili north local government area of the state.

The party’s interim national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, reasoned that if Obi and the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA,Willie Obiano, had not turned the praying ground to a campaign ground, the ugly incident that ensued would not have happened.

The party said while there was nothing wrong in a state governor attending a vigil, such visit should not be impromptu in order for the organizers to make the necessary security arrangements.

It added that such visit should not have been used as a licence to engage in political campaign.

The party also condemned the move of the governor to set up a panel to investigate the stampede, saying it would amount to presiding over a case that one is involved in.

“Considering that the Governor himself is at the centre of the whole tragedy, setting up a panel to investigate the cause of the stampede will amount to seeking to be a judge in your own case. The only cause of the stampede is the Governor’s ill-advised visit to the vigil,” the statement said.

It continued: “The simple truth is that there would have been no stampede if Governor Obi had not come to the vigil or, even if he had come, had not attempted to politicize the gathering that was meant strictly for prayers.”

The APC warned the governor to desist from imposing a candidate on the state against the wish of the people.

The Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry in its usual practice organised a crusade to mark entrance into a new month and hundreds of worshippers who attended the programme booed at the governor and Obiano when they tried to launch a campaign, resulting in a stampede as security details attached to Obi tried to defend their boss.

The police is yet to give an official figure of casualty more than 24 hours after the incident.

Many Feared Dead In Anambra Stampede

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Many Feared Dead In Anambra Stampede

A stampede at the Holy Ghost Adoration Ground in Uke, Idemili North Local Government of Anambra State, led to several deaths on Saturday morning.

The Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, organises a weekly crusade at the ground which is usually attended by hundreds of worshippers.

Being the first Saturday in the month of November, the programme promised to be special and it attracted more worshipers.

However, they got more than they bargained for as stampede, the cause of is yet to be determined, led to the death of many, bringing the program me to an abrupt halt.

The police public relations officer for the state command, Emeka Chukwuemeka, said the casaulty figure cannot immediately be ascertained, but reports say at least 23 had died and another 100 injured.

“The number of deaths cannot be ascertained now until we conclude investigations because some persons who fainted were later resuscitated,” Chukwuemeka said.

He said investigations have begun into unravelling the cause of the incident.

Meanwhile, the candidate of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, for the November 16 governorship election, Chris Ngige, has blamed governor Peter Obi and his party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, candidate, Willie Obiano, for the incident.

Ngige said that reports reaching him indicate that “the APGA campaign train went to the Adoration Ground at Ukeh and induced stampede as Obi’s goons charged at worshipers who booed at them for campaigning at the Holy ground.”

Reacting to the incident, however, governor Obi who expressed shock over the incident, promised to set up a panel of enquiry to determine the immediate and remote causes of the stampede.

He also promised to take care of the medical bills of the victims.

Guinea-Bissau Postpones Election For Lack Of Funds

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Guinea-Bissau Postpones Election For Lack Of Funds

Guinea-Bissau will postpone an election planned for November until early next year due to lack of funds, officials said on Friday.

The election is supposed to return the West African country to democracy after a military coup last year and western and regional powers and the United Nations, UN, had all urged it to hold the vote before the year ends.

“There is no sufficient funding to hold general elections,” interim President Manuel Sherifo Nhamadjo said.

He had previously indicated that the vote would take place on November 24.

The UN special representative to the country, Jose Ramos-Horta, said that $20 million had been raised for the election, adding that he now expected it to happen either in February or March.

“We have to first of all proceed with voter registration and after that the general elections could be held,” said Augusto Mendes, president of Guinea Bissau’s electoral commission.

“This will probably be sometime in the first quarter of 2014,” he added.

The coup-prone former Portuguese colony is notorious as a trafficking hub for narcotics from South America to Europe.

Gov Fashola Wants Clear Agenda For National Conference

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Gov Fashola Wants Clear Agenda For National Conference

The governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola has urged the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue to study the report of the 2006 conference and set a clear agenda for the success of the talks.

Fashola gave the advice when members of the committee led by its chairman Femi Okunrounmu paid him a courtesy call.

He said if there must have a dialogue, there must be an agenda and every view must be heard.

“If we refuse to listen to the views of the aggrieved, it portends great concern whether or not we can dialogue. If those that do not agree are heckled and shouted down, then for me, the platform for dialogue is already defeated,” he said.

He stressed that “a dialogue by its very definition, demands that you must listen to every view, both agreeable and disagreeable”.

The governor listed unemployment, lack of education, power supply, hunger, national security as some of the agitations of the people that should be discussed.

“When the people are prosperous, they often tend to be less violent,” he said.

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Earlier, Okunrounmu had promised that the views of the people would count.

“This is an event that people have been agitating for for decades and since the announcement Nigerians have been overwhelmed,” he said.

He said the visit of members of the committee to the state was in continuation of consultations with Nigerians across the six geo-political zones.

New Distribution Company Wants Power Theft Criminalised

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New Distribution Company Wants Power Theft Criminalised

From Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin

A call has been made for the criminalization of power theft and enforcement of the existing sanctions with appropriate penalties for the recovery of lost revenue arising from such acts of sabotage.

Chairman of Vigeo Power Limited, Victor Gbolade Osibodu, made the call on Friday in Benin, Edo State, at the physical handing over of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, to his company.

Osibodu also urged the federal government to speedily conclude payment of workers of PHCN to enable new owners and investors who took over the various companies to enjoy a stable working environment.

He said a “regulatory certainty with a well defined and predictable tariff methodology” should be developed, while also urging the federal government to facilitate easy access to adequate funding for the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.

This, according to him, will enable the TCN adequately evacuate power produced to distribution companies.

He assured retained staff of the now defunct BEDC of  a conducive and healthy working environment, just as he promised electricity consumers that the handover will mark significant improvement in power supply.

Earlier in his remarks, the CEO, BEDC, Effiong Umoren, said the four states under the zone, namely, Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti, have the highest prepared meters population (about 40 percent) in the country.

Sharia Court Judge Dismissed Over Bribery Allegations

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Sharia Court Judge Dismissed Over Bribery Allegations

A judge of the Sharia High Court in Maiduguri, Borno State, Alkali Mohammed Suguli has been dismissed having been found guilty of corruption.

The Borno State Judicial Service Commission announced the dismissal on Friday after considering the report of the Public Complaints Committee which investigated a petition by one Bukar Karkarma against the accused.

Suguli of Yerwa Civil Sharia Court I, Maiduguri, was said to have “unlawfully sold inherited property” and was dismissed for gross misconduct.

A statement signed by the secretary of the Borno State Judicial Service Commission, Baba Goni Adam, read: “The Commission accepted the report of the Public Complaint Committee which found Alkali Mohammed Suguli guilty of gross misconduct in the case of Mallam Bukar Karkarma versus Alhaji Bashir Liman.”

Investigations revealed that the sack of Suguli came after long drawn legal battle that commenced since 2006 when the petitioner,  Karkarma, wrote to the state chief judge seeking redress in the suit before the (now) expelled judge.

The petitioner had alleged that thet judge received bribes to give a ruling against him in the suit between “Mallam Bukar Karkarma versus Alhaji Bashir Liman”, where an order was given for the selling of his inherited property.

Suguli’s expulsion is with effect from October 31, 2013, according to the statement.

Senate Orders IG To Investigate Rape Of 2-Years-Old By Policeman

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Senate Orders IG To Investigate Rape Of 2-Years-Old By Policeman

The Senate has ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to prosecute a coporal, Anthony Onoja, for allegedly raping a two-year-old girl in Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

The Senate unanimously condemned the act of paedophilia and sexual abuse, even as it asked its committee on police affairs to investigate it and report back within one week.

The Senate’s order followed a motion titled, “Cruelty to Infants”, brought by Helen Esuene (PDP-Akwa Ibom), in which she said that the Nigeria Police had refused to charge the suspect to court for the alleged sexual assault of the minor.

She noted that under the Child Rights Act, sexual assault was a criminal offence which attracted life or 14 years imprisonment.

“This is not the first time it has been reported in this hallowed chamber of a police officer sexually abusing an infant girl and offenders often go unpunished,” she said, calling for urgent action to stop such evil acts.

Abdul Ningi (PDP-Bauchi) attributed the increasing spate of sexual abuse to the neglect of the people’s cultural values.

“For it to be done by a law enforcement officer, it speaks volumes of the negative changes we are having in Africa. As long as we don’t go back to appreciate our culture and history, we will continue to witness these abnormalities which now place us half way between humans and animals,” Ningi said.

another senator, Ifeanyi Okowa (PDP-Delta), called on government agencies to intensify awareness on the Child Rights Act to encourage Nigerians to take precaution.

Okowa said it was the responsibility of government to ensure that the dignity of the children was secured and protected to guide against any abuses.

“We are responsible for protection of the dignity of every child. We must begin to rethink and find our way back to our God,” Okowa said.

Senate President David Mark said the policemen’s crime must not go unpunished.

“Crimes are committed all over the world, it is not only in Nigeria. The difference is that when our own is committed, we don’t get the people who commit them and when we eventually find the people, we don’t punish them. We should begin to punish people who commit crimes no matter how small or big, irrespective of whom they are,” he stressed.

He said: “I believe that this particular case must attract maximum punishment whatever way we look at it. Even if we tie him to a stake and kill him, it is not enough punishment,” Mark said.

 

Kaduna Assembly Investigates NRC Recruitment

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Kaduna Assembly Investigates NRC Recruitment

The Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Usman Tahir, on Thursday constituted a seven-man ad hoc committee to investigate the alleged abuse of recruitment guidelines by the Zaria district office of the Nigeria Railway Corporations, NRC.

The investigation was prompted by a motion moved on the floor of the assembly by Yakubu Soja (APC-Zaria Kewaye) on alleged abuses in the recruitment of junior staff on grade levels 01-06 by the district office.

According to Soja, the recruitment violated the provisions of the Federal Civil Service which provides that such vacancies be filled by applicants where the government offices were located.

He said it was important for the assembly to thoroughly investigate the matter so as not deny applicants in the area the right to be considered for appointment.

Soja informed the members that applicants from Zaria district of the NRC were side-lined from the exercise.

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Several lawmakers, including Mohammad Ali (APC-Kawo), urged the House to also look into recruitment exercises conducted by various federal agencies in the state.

The committee, headed by Maikudi Tanko, was given two weeks to report back to the assembly.

Other members are Abdullahi Khalid, Bala Yunusa, Labari Tela, Balarabe Jigo, Yakubu Soja and Mohammed Shuaibu.

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