BPP Deploys Upgraded Database Version For Contractors

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mr Mamman Ahmadu says the agency recently deployed an upgraded version of the National Database for Contractors to ensure effective and sustainable operations.
He said this yesterday in Abuja, while declaring open a six-day sectoral capacity building workshop on public procurement process.
The workshop was designed for designated officers in the directorate cadre and heads of procurement units in Federal Government agencies, parastatals and commissions on the implementation of the 2018 budget.
Ahmadu said that the database was integrated with other sister government agencies such as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for real time data exchange.
He listed other agencies to include the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), and the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
“This data exchange is aimed at fighting corruption by eliminating the use of falsified documents in the bidding process.
“The exchange of data also aims to eradicate the patronage of portfolio companies, prevent companies from providing false claims in their submissions to gain undue competitive advantage.
“For instance, the number of personnel a company claims to employ in a bid to secure a contract should match the number making contributions in pensions, ITF and employee compensation scheme.’’
He also said that the agency had deployed a National Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO) to ensure that public procurement information was publicly available so all stakeholders could engage with the entire procurement cycle.
This, he said would enable interested parties such as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the private sector to monitor every contract awarded by the Federal Government to ensure that they were delivered as expected.
“When things are hidden, it is very easy to do sharp practices, thinking that nobody would detect what you are doing.
“However, when they are open, you have no place to hide and if you are doing something untoward, it will easily be noticed by others and be brought to public notice and that is the reason we want to be open in the procurement process.
“This will also be an avenue to curb instances of project abandonment, as contractors that are bad performers will be easily detected through the portal,’’ Ahmadu said.