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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), Accountability Lab Nigeria, and several other civil society organisations, including the MacArthur Foundation, have lamented the level of fraud in the public procurement processes in Nigeria.
The organisations said that most of the corruption is being witnessed in public service delivery during procurement processes, which are still far from being clean, transparent, and accountable to the people.
At an event to commemorate the 2024 International Anti-Corruption Day in Abuja on Tuesday, Maximilian Menhard, who represented the UNODC Country Director, Cheikh Ousmane Toure, appreciated the courage and opportunity to discuss the “monster” called corruption in the public service system.
He said the International Anti-Corruption Day offers a crucial opportunity to raise national awareness about procurement fraud in Nigeria’s public procurement system, to commit to integrity in public procurements, and to agree on relevant follow-up actions.
He said: “Corruption in public procurement has had negative impacts on government spending, undermining market competition and impeding economic and sustainable development. It has led to governments paying inflated prices, often resulting in substandard goods and services, lack of accountability, and an erosion of public trust.
“A procurement system lacking transparency, competition and integrity is a fertile ground for corrupt behaviour, while implementing a public procurement system based on these principles can be challenging.”
Chief Executive Officer, PPDC, Lucy Abagi, in her remarks, said the event with the theme “Tackling Procurement Fraud and Its Far-Reaching Consequences: A Collective Responsibility,” provided an opportunity for government officials, civil society organisations, private sector representatives, and international development partners to address the significant challenges in ineffective procurement processes in government activities.
She said that a lack of accountability in public service remains a significant challenge, leading to abuse of procurement processes and misuse of public resources. “Currently, public procurement processes are carried out without transparency, such as unpublished procurement information, which leaves citizens in the dark about how decisions are made and deprives them of the chance to track the progress of projects.
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“PPDC’s recent report on accessing procurement information through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests proved challenging, with over 56 per cent of such requests returned unanswered, reflecting a significant lack of transparency in public procurement processes.
“This persistent lack of accountability in public procurement remains a critical challenge despite the adoption of frameworks such as the Public Procurement Act and initiatives like the World Bank’s State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme. Inefficiencies, mismanagement, and fraud persist. These systemic issues also hinder competitive and fair business practices, limit oversight, and obstruct the government’s ability to deliver public services.”
She expressed satisfaction that the event provided a platform for meaningful dialogue, focusing on leveraging innovative technologies, such as AI-driven open contracting and gender-responsive procurement frameworks, to enhance transparency and accountability.
Country Director, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Friday Odeh, in his remarks, said that a lack of transparency in the procurement processes has cost Nigeria substantial losses in terms of money and time.
He said that Accountability Lab has been at the forefront of championing accountability and transparency in government engagement, mobilising more support and cooperation from local and international partners to amplify the campaign for transparency and accountability in government activities.
Amina Salihu, Deputy Director, Africa Office, MacArthur Foundation, in her remarks, charged journalists and other human rights activists to regularly engage in investigative work to unravel the truths behind some capital projects of the government vis-à-vis the procurement processes through which the contracts were awarded.
She, however, alleged that, most times, people in the private sectors, including lawyers and accountants, often support the fraudulent processes through their actions that aid the activities of the politicians.
“We all can put efforts together to ensure that the resources of our country actually go to meet the needs of the people for which those resources are made. That way, we better the lives of our people,” she advocated.
