FG Threatens Sanctions Against Public Officials Over Inflated Contracts, Procurement Violations

FG has threatened sanctions against public officials over inflated contracts and procurement violations.

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Government has warned heads of government-owned agencies, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions that they risk sanctions for awarding inflated contracts or violating public procurement regulations.

The warning follows concerns over contract awards exceeding approved price benchmarks, restricted competition through exclusive arrangements with contractors and inadequate regulatory oversight of public procurement processes.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, issued the directive in a circular instructing accounting officers of Federal Government-owned enterprises and other public institutions to comply strictly with the Public Procurement Act, 2007, as amended by the Finance Act, 2020.

The circular, obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, was addressed to ministers, permanent secretaries, heads of government agencies and parastatals, among other senior public officials.

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Akume expressed concern that several government-owned enterprises and corporations continued to award contracts without complying with the procurement law, warning that the practice had contributed to inflated contract costs, restricted competition and inadequate regulatory oversight.

The SGF said the government would no longer tolerate such violations and directed all Federal Government-owned enterprises, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions that utilise public funds to ensure their procurement activities comply with the Act.

The circular stated, “It has come to the attention of the Federal Government that despite the provisions of Section 15 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, as amended by the Finance Act, 2020, several Federal Government Owned Enterprises and Corporations continue to procure and award contracts without recourse to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.”

It added that the practice had resulted in contract sums above established pricing benchmarks, captive markets for exclusive contractors, significant departures from approved guidelines and the absence of critical regulatory oversight.

“This non-compliance is unacceptable and will no longer be tolerated,” Akume stated.

He consequently directed the affected institutions to conduct their procurement activities in line with the Public Procurement Act, provided they utilise public funds.

The SGF also placed particular responsibility on the heads of the institutions, who serve as accounting officers, directing them to liaise with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for guidance on compliance.

The circular warned that any accounting officer who continued to award contracts outside the provisions of the law would face sanctions.

“The Heads of Enterprises, Corporations, Councils, Authorities and Commissions, who are also the Accounting Officers, are hereby directed to liaise with the Bureau of Public Procurement for further guidance, as any Accounting Officer who contravenes this directive and continues to award contracts without recourse to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, shall be sanctioned accordingly,” the circular stated.

Akume further instructed that the directive be circulated among all accounting officers for immediate implementation and strict compliance.

Among the officials and institutions copied on the circular were the Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Principal Secretary to the President, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, ministers and ministers of state.

Others included the National Security Adviser, Economic Adviser to the President, service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The circular was also addressed to the chairmen of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Police Service Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Federal Character Commission, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Independent National Electoral Commission.

Also listed were the chairmen of the National Population Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Permanent secretaries, heads of extra-ministerial departments, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General for the Federation and heads of government agencies and parastatals were equally included among the recipients.

The Public Procurement Act, 2007, established the Bureau of Public Procurement as the regulatory authority responsible for monitoring and overseeing public procurement activities, setting standards and promoting transparency and competition in the use of public funds.

Section 15 of the Act, as amended by the Finance Act, 2020, expanded its application to Federal Government-owned enterprises, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions, provided they utilise public funds.

The amendment reinforced the requirement for institutions outside conventional ministries and departments to comply with procurement regulations when spending public funds.

Section 20 of the Act also places responsibility for procurement compliance on accounting officers, including permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies and corporations. They are required to supervise procurement processes and ensure that their institutions comply with the law.

The latest warning comes amid a series of measures by the Federal Government to strengthen procurement controls and curb inflated contract costs.

In October 2025, the Federal Executive Council directed the strict application of the Public Procurement Act across federal institutions following its meeting of August 13, 2025.

The decision was conveyed in a circular issued by Akume, directing government institutions, including government-owned companies and enterprises, the National Assembly, the Judiciary, national defence and security agencies and the Central Bank of Nigeria, to comply with procurement requirements when utilising public funds.

In another measure, the Federal Government in October 2026 directed the implementation of a mandatory 14-calendar-day standstill period between the announcement of an intended contract award and the conclusion of procurement contracts.

The measure was designed to give unsuccessful bidders an opportunity to seek clarification, request debriefing or lodge complaints before contracts are finalised.

The government has also introduced tougher measures against contractors involved in fraud, corruption, falsification of documents and persistent failure to execute public contracts.

Under the National Guideline on Debarment of Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers, contractors found culpable may be barred from participating in federal procurement for between three and five years.

Recall that in May 2026 the BPP had barred Ministries, Departments and Agencies from processing upward revisions of contract sums without first obtaining certification from the bureau.

The measure followed the introduction of guidelines centralising the review and approval of contract variations and modifications to project scopes, irrespective of the contract value.

The guidelines, issued pursuant to Sections 5(a) and 5(o) of the Public Procurement Act, replaced the 2013 framework, which required presidential approval only for contract variations exceeding 15 per cent of the initial contract sum or N1bn.

Under the revised framework, requests for variation orders, fluctuation claims and modifications to project scopes must be submitted to the BPP for review and certification before being forwarded to the relevant approving authority.

The bureau warned that contract variations processed without its certification could attract sanctions under the Public Procurement Act, including the suspension of responsible officers and possible debarment of contractors.

The Director-General of the BPP, Dr Adebowale Adedokun, said the guidelines were designed to prevent contractors and public institutions from exploiting contract variations to increase project costs beyond approved amounts.

“Variations must not become a backdoor for cost inflation and scope creep,” he said, adding that the measures would ensure that adjustments to public contracts were necessary, justified and delivered value for money.

In August 2026, Adedokun disclosed that the Federal Government had saved about N1.4tn in 18 months through the bureau’s price intelligence and benchmarking initiatives.

He made the disclosure during a media interview on the sidelines of a public procurement capacity-building workshop for senior management and executive staff of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation in Lagos.

According to him, the introduction of price intelligence had enabled the bureau to scrutinise project costs submitted by government institutions and compare them with established pricing standards before granting procurement approvals.

He said the reforms had also encouraged contractors to moderate their bids rather than risk having quotations rejected for exceeding the bureau’s benchmarks.

The BPP had earlier disclosed that its procurement reviews saved the Federal Government more than N303bn, $304.9m and €1.74m from inflated contract costs between January and September 2025.

The figures, based on the bureau’s assessment of contracts reviewed, highlight the potential financial impact of procurement scrutiny and price controls.

Akume’s latest directive reinforces the government’s position that all institutions spending public funds must comply with established procurement regulations, with accounting officers held responsible for ensuring transparency, accountability and value for money.