By Iyabo Lawal
There are plans by the National Assembly to review the Public Procurement Act guiding award and execution of contracts in federal universities. Already, the Senate Committee on Public Procurement will today hold a public hearing on the bill for an act to amend the public procurement act 2007, and for other matters connected to it.
The bill seeks to consolidate all the legal framework of the nation’s federal universities and incorporate the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and related laws, to facilitate uniformity of institutional and administrative framework, while accommodating peculiarities of each institution under subsidiary legislation.
The event is billed to hold at the conference room of the Senate new wing of the National Assembly Complex. The Guardian learnt that a prominent lawmaker from the southwest is one of those pushing for the amendment.
The Act empowers Council to make provisions for the procedure and terms for all procurement process in the university. But if the amendment scales through, the Chairman of Council, and not the Vice Chancellor, would be vested with the power to confirm the decisions of all Tenders Boards or committees.
Notwithstanding the provision of the extant Public Procurement Act, the Council shall be empowered to determine and approve awards of contracts, where the value of such exceeds N25 million.
Source: The Guardian