Reps Panel Seeks Increased 2026 Budget For BPP To Drive E-Procurement
•By Admin
ABUJA — THE House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement has called for increased budgetary allocation to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in the 2026 fiscal year to accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a fully electronic procurement system.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Unyime Idem, made the call during the presentation of the Bureau’s 2026 budget estimates before the National Assembly, stressing that digital procurement remains critical to deepening transparency and accountability in public spending.
Idem described the Bureau as a strategic institution established under the Public Procurement Act 2007 to ensure due process, value for money, and prudent management of public resources.
“Given the urgent need to transition to an e-procurement system in Nigeria, I call on the leadership of the National Assembly and members of this committee to increase budgetary provision for the Bureau in 2026 to facilitate the process,” he said.
While backing improved funding for the digital transition, the committee chairman reminded the Bureau that previous budgets had already made provisions for electronic transmission and procurement automation.
He urged the management to ensure that such items do not continue to reappear as recurring expenditure in subsequent budgets.
“We have approved budgetary provisions in the past for electronic transmission. We expect that with this allocation, e-transmission should not continue to reappear in future budgets,” Idem stated.
He further charged the Bureau to urgently submit a comprehensive proposal for the amendment of the Public Procurement Act, noting that nearly two decades after its enactment, emerging realities in digital procurement and evolving global best practices make a review imperative.
The committee assured the Bureau of constructive legislative oversight and pledged thorough consideration of its proposals in the interest of strengthening governance and fiscal discipline.
Earlier, Director-General of the Bureau, Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, presented a proposed budget of N32.18 billion for the 2026 fiscal year, explaining that the allocation is designed to prioritise the digitalisation of Nigeria’s public procurement system.
According to him, the proposal comprises N17.87 billion for capital expenditure, N8.47 billion for overhead costs, and N5.84 billion for personnel.
Adedokun said a major component of the 2026 plan is the deployment of a national e-procurement platform that will eliminate manual submissions from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), effective March 1, 2026.
He explained that the implementation would be phased, with about 20 MDAs expected to be onboarded onto the platform by September 2026.
The Director-General added that the proposal also covers planned amendments to the procurement law, development of sector-specific procurement frameworks, contractor categorisation, enhanced procurement audits and monitoring, as well as affirmative procurement policies aimed at promoting inclusiveness for women-owned businesses, small and medium enterprises, youths, and persons with disabilities.