Fight Against Corruption: Lagos Assembly moves to tinker with Public Procurement Law

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday read for the second time a Bill for a Law to Amend the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency Law to enhance transparency and fight agay corruption.
The House said that the need to amend law became imperative to also enhance performance and effectiveness of procurements in the state.

The lawmakers, who took turns to deliberate on the bill, said that the composition, initial deposit to contractors and fund assessment should be looked into.
Speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. Yinka Ogundimu said that the tenure of principal officers of the board and the advanced payment to contractors should be looked into in the amendment.

According to him, the 20 per cent initial payment to contractors stipulated by the existing law was too small and had occasioned the increase in the number of abandoned projects.
Ogundimu said that the review would enhance performance and delivery of standard work by contractors.

Also speaking, Prince Bisi Yusuff (APC-Alimosho I) said that the amendment would foster independence and transparency in the operations of the board for the benefit of Lagos residents.
Hon. Setonji David (APC- Badagry II) said that the committee handling the amendment should look at issues that had made the implementation of the existing law difficult.
In his ruling, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa said the Public Procurement Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2018 had become necessary to deal with corruption in the state procurement operations.
Obasa said, "The essence of this amendment is to banish corruption and to encourage transparency and probity in the award of contracts".

The Speaker urged the House committee to look into the board composition, first payment to contractors as well as language of carrying out procurement activities.
He said that there should be an increment in the initial deposit to contractors to 40 per cent as well as inclusion of the use of indigenous language in carrying out procurement processes to encourage local contractors.

Obasa, who said that there was the need to ensure that Lagosians were given only qualitative and durable projects, committed the amendment bill to the House Committee on Finance.
He directed the committee to report back to the House in three weeks.
Meanwhile, the House also read for the second time, Private Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2018 as well as the Lagos State House of Assembly Commission (Amendment ) Bill, 2018.