Reps ask Jonathan to dissolve procurement bureau

The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to dissolve the Bureau for Public Procurement because it has been operating illegally since inception.The House also advised the President to constitute the National Council on Public Procurement within 21 days in compliance with the BPP Act, 2007.In a resolution passed at its sitting in Abuja, the House said the BPP had been operating without the council, a development it described as a breach of the Act.The Chairman, House Committee on Power, Mr. Patrick Ikhariale, who moved a motion on the issue, told the legislators that by the provision of the BPP Act, the agency could not operate without the NCPP.Since the coming into force of the Public Procurement Act, only the BPP has been established, while the National Council on Public Procurement, the apex body, has not been constituted, Ikhariale said.He noted that it was the duty of the council to approve the appointment of directors for the BPP, give general directives for its operations and consider its audited accounts.In the absence of the council, the lawmaker informed the House that the bureau had illegally usurped these powers and functions in breach of the objectives of the Act.Although the majority of lawmakers supported the motion, some called for investigation into the issue, drawing attention to the several delayed efforts in the past to amend the Act.Findings revealed that following the failure to amend the Act in the past, the President had assumed the role of the council pending when the proposed amendments would be effected.However, the lawmakers insisted that the council must be constituted within 21 days and directed its committees on Public Procurement and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance within seven days from the expiration of the deadline.A member from Bauchi State, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, told the House that the Federal Government could face series of litigation over the continued operation of the BPP.
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