The Nigeria Revenue Service has committed financial and technical backing for sweeping reforms to the Public Procurement Act 2007, designed to cut abandoned government projects and strengthen public spending accountability. The NRS Executive Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, made the pledge during talks with the Bureau of Public Procurement's Director-General, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, at NRS headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday. Adedeji said the revenue agency would provide personnel, funding and expertise drawn from Nigeria's recent tax reforms. He framed the support as a way to boost voluntary tax compliance by showing citizens that government revenue was being deployed effectively rather than wasted on incomplete projects.
Adedeji highlighted the fiscal impact of abandoned projects, describing them as wasted tax revenue or borrowed funds that taxpayers would ultimately repay. He questioned whether procurement rules adopted under different economic circumstances remained appropriate, citing restrictions on advance payments and contract approval limits as examples. The NRS chairman said visible improvements in infrastructure and public services would strengthen confidence in tax administration. He directed officials to form a technical committee to support the proposed legislative amendments.
The BPP is pursuing at least 29 procurement reforms that require changes to existing law, according to Adedokun. The current act cannot accommodate these minimum reforms, he said. Proposed changes include electronic procurement systems, community-based contracting arrangements allowing businesses to bid for smaller contracts in their localities, sector-specific procedures and preferential access for women, youths, persons with disabilities and military veterans. The electronic system would digitise processes from assessment to payment while improving tax collection at source.
Adedokun defended the Federal Government's earlier revision of procurement approval thresholds, noting that chief executives can now approve certain contracts below N10bn and goods and services contracts below N5bn, subject to applicable procedures. He attributed some abandoned projects to rigid interpretations of procurement rules, citing the NRS headquarters project as an example of how procedural flexibility within the law had enabled completion. The BPP has also intervened in the long-abandoned headquarters project of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate its completion. Adedokun called for a comprehensive national contractors' database to strengthen tax compliance and prevent revenue leakages, saying the bureau sought value for money rather than lowest cost.
Adedokun requested NRS support for professional training, the proposed amendments and expanding the BPP's institutional presence across the country. The NRS Group Director for Support Service Group, Kunle Ogidi, said the bureau had assisted the revenue agency with procurement documentation, compliance training and project execution. Some NRS personnel have undergone procurement training and certification, and the service has submitted recommendations on the proposed amendments to the National Assembly.