1. INTRODUCTION
The Procurement Department carries out its functions in line with the Public Procurement Act, 2007 (PPA, 2007) and the Financial Regulations as revised up to 1st January, 2009 for the purpose of
Eliminating contract inflation, project abandonment and non-execution and frivolous expenditure
Getting value for money as the fundamental premise of public expenditure
Fighting corruption
Improving plan-budget linkage
Ensuring proper technical and financial preparation of projects
Introducing transparency and competition into tendering and bidding processes for contracts (advertisement in newspapers, publication in tenders journal and websites of Government Agencies)
The Public Procurement Act, 2007 provides the principles, supervisory and operational structures, as well as the scope, process, methods, complaint mechanism, code of conduct and offenses relating to Procurement of goods, works and services and disposal of assets at the Federal level in Nigeria for all entities outside the foregoing description which derive at least 35% of the funds appropriated or proposed to be appropriated for any type of procurement described in the PPA, 2007 from the Federation share of Consolidated Revenue Fund.
2. VISION STATEMENT
Building and Sustaining an Efficient Procurement System in line with the PPA, 2007.
3. MISSION STATEMENT
To professionalize the process of Procurement that ensures Transparency, Efficiency, Competition, Integrity and Value for Money to support National Growth and Development.
4. MANDATE
To Coordinate all procurement processes in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and its Agencies
5. FUNCTIONS
The Procurement Department shall:
i. Prepare the needs assessment and evaluation of the Ministry’s Procurement;
ii. Identify the goods, works or services required;
iii. Prepare Procurement Plan for the Ministry of Labour & Employment
iv. Advertise and solicit for bids in compliance with the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
v. Receive and keep appropriate documentation for bids received, examine bids received, coordinate the analysis and evaluation of bids received and:
a) Make submissions to the Permanent Secretary for Contracts within Permanent Secretary’s Threshold
b) Make submissions to the Ministry’s Tenders’ Board (MTB) for Contracts within MTB Threshold
c) Obtain Certificate of ‘No Objection’ to Contract Award from the Bureau of Public Procurement, and make submissions to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FML&E)’s Tenders’ Board and Federal Executive Council (FEC) for Contracts above MTB’s threshold.
vi. Debrief the bid losers on request.
vii. Resolve complaints and disputes, if any.
viii. Obtain and confirm the validity of any performance guarantee.
ix. Announce and publicize Contract Awards.
x. Execute all Contract Agreements.
xi. Disposal of un-serviceable/serviceable items/plants/vehicles
xii. Conduct Price Intelligence / Market Survey
xiii. Secretariat to the Ministerial Tenders Board / Procurement Planning Committee / Board of Survey
xiv. Holds regular meetings with Heads of Department/Unit in FML&E ‘s Parastatals
xv. Conducts Post Procurement Audit of all procurement of the FML&E
xvi. Monitor Due Process Compliance in the FML&E.
6. STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT
7. STAKEHOLDERS AND CLIENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT
i. Departments/Units in the Ministry of Labour & Employment
ii. Contractors/Suppliers
iii. FML&E Agencies – National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), National Productivity Centre (NPC), Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP)
iv. Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP)
v. National Assembly
vi. Industrial Training Fund (ITF)
vii. National Pension Commission (PENCOM)
viii. Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
ix. Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
x. Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN)
xi. Civil Society Organisations ( CSOs)
8. CLIENT EXPECTATIONS
i. Conduct of Ministry’staff in matters involving the procurement and disposal of public assets shall be governed by principles of accountability, transparency, fairness, equity and professionalism.
ii. Maintain the highest standard of ethical conduct in dealing with Contractors and suppliers :
iii. Ensure adequate time is given for planning
iv. Shall divest themselves of any interest or relationships which are actually inimical or detrimental to the best interest of government and underlying principles of PPA, 2007
v. All contractors, suppliers and their staff shall be dealt with in an equitable and business-like manner.
vi. Compliance with the PPA, 2007
vii. Compliance with Contractual Obligations
viii. Maintain Accurate Records
ix. Must not Abuse their Office
x. Must Declare conflict of Interest
9. CLIENT OBLIGATIONS
i. All bidders in addition to requirements contained in any solicitation document shall: (a) possess the necessary; professional and technical qualifications to carry out particular procurements, financial capability, equipment and other relevant infrastructure and shall have adequate personnel to perform the obligations of the procurement contracts.
(b) Possess the legal capacity to enter into the procurement contract;
(c) not be in receivership, the subject of any form of insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings or the subject of any form of winding up petition or proceedings;
(d) have fulfilled all its obligations to pay taxes, pensions and social security contributions;
(e) not have any director who has been convicted in any country for any criminal offence relating to fraud or financial impropriety or criminal misrepresentation or falsification of facts relating to any matter;
(f) accompany every bid with an affidavit disclosing whether or not any officer of the relevant committees of the procurement entity or Bureau is a former or present director, shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bidder and confirm that all information presented in its bid are true and correct in all particulars.
10. REDRESS MECHANISM
COMPLAINT PROCEDURE UNDER THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ACT, 2007
THE NINE (9) STEPS
Where any Contractor/Consultant/MDA is not pleased with the outcome of any procurement proceedings either because of a perceived breach or omission of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, he shall:
Step 1: Make a formal and written complaint to the Permanent Secretary of Labour within fifteen (15) working days from when he became aware of the breach or omission.
Step 2: The Permanent Secretary shall review the complaint and communicate his decision on the matter to the complainant within fifteen (15) working days. He shall give reasons for his decision and the corrective measures to be taken where necessary.
Step 3: If the Permanent Secretary fails to make a decision within the given period or the complainant is not satisfied with his decision, the Act allows the complainant to forward his complaint to the Bureau within ten (10) working days from the date that decision was communicated to him.
Step 4: Upon receiving the complaint, the Bureau shall:
(a) Notify the Ministry of the complaint and
(b) Suspend any further action by the Ministry until the matter is settled
Step 5: Unless the Bureau dismisses the complaint, it shall further
(a) Prohibit the Ministry from taking further action,
(b) Nullify part or all of the unlawful act or decision of the Ministry,
(c) Declare or make known the rules and principles governing the subject matter of the complaint, and
(d) Reverse any improper decision by the Ministry or substitute its own decision for the improper one.
Step 6: The Bureau shall notify all interested bidders of the complaint before taking any decision on the matter and may consider representations from the bidders and the Ministry.
Step 7: The Bureau shall make its own decision within twenty one (21) working days after receiving the complaint and shall give the reasons for its decision and the remedies granted if any.
Step 8: If the Bureau fails to make its decision within the given time or if the complainant is not satisfied with the Bureau’s decision, the complainant may appeal to the Federal High Court within 30 days after receipt of the Bureau’s decision or the expiration of the time specified for the Bureau to make a decision.
Step 9: The decision of the Federal High Court shall be final on the matter and no further appeals shall lie.
All Contractors/Consultants/MDAs are advised to strictly follow the above steps in seeking redress in any procurement process.