Procurement Procedures & Due Process

Procurement Procedures & Due Process

Quick Answer: "Due Process" is the BPP certification mechanism that ensures every high-value contract followed the lawful procurement steps before award. The BPP issues a Certificate of No Objection only after verifying needs assessment, planning, advertisement, evaluation, and value-for-money; without it, FEC/MTB-level contracts cannot be awarded and funds will not be released.

The procurement cycle (PPA 2007)

1. Needs assessment — the user department defines the requirement, justified by an existing programme or appropriation.
2. Procurement planning — the MDA includes the procurement in its Annual Procurement Plan (APP), submitted to BPP by 31 December each year (PPA §25).
3. Advertisement — open competitive bidding is advertised in at least two national newspapers and on the BPP e-procurement portal (PPA §25); pre-qualification is used for complex works.
4. Bid submission and opening — bids are received before the deadline and opened publicly immediately after the deadline, with bid securities where required.
5. Evaluation — technical and financial evaluation by a committee; the most responsive, lowest evaluated bid is recommended, or Quality and Cost Based Selection for consultancy.
6. Due Process certification — BPP reviews the process and issues a Certificate of No Objection for contracts above the prior-review thresholds.
7. Award and contract — the Tenders Board or FEC approves; the contract is signed; the performance bond and advance payment guarantee are furnished.

Tender's Board, FEC, and National Council on Procurement

The PPA 2007 distributes approval authority by value:

• Accounting Officer (Permanent Secretary or DG/CEO) clears low-value procurements below the BPP thresholds.
• Parastatal Tenders Board (PTB) for parastatals.
• Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) for ministries.
• Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the highest tier — ₦5bn+ Goods/Consultancy and ₦10bn+ Works under current BPP thresholds.
• National Council on Public Procurement (NCPP) — the apex policy body established by PPA §1, comprising the President (chair), Vice-President, state governors, and ministers; it sets thresholds and oversees the BPP.

The Due Process "No Objection" certificate

The BPP No Objection is the prior review instrument for high-value contracts. It certifies that the procurement complied with the Act — advertisement was adequate, evaluation was fair, and the recommended bidder is the most responsive. Without it, the FEC/MTB will not approve the award, and the Accountant-General will not release funds. Due Process is not a separate certificate independent of the PPA — it is the BPP's prior-review step under PPA §§28-29.

Vetting and certification safeguards

• Bid documents must use BPP Standard Bidding Documents (SBD).
• The evaluation report is signed by all members of the evaluation committee.
• For consultancy, Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) applies at ₦100m and above; below ₦100m, Consultant Qualifications Selection or Least Cost Selection is used.
• "Nigeria First" policy — preference for locally manufactured goods and local companies for procurements within NCB thresholds.
• All contracts above the prior-review thresholds are uploaded to the BPP e-procurement portal for transparency.
• Emergency and direct procurement require written justification and BPP notification under the conditions in PPA §§42-45.

Common exam pitfalls

• Confusing Due Process with the certificate itself. Due Process is the mechanism (the entire prior-review chain); the No Objection is the document BPP issues at its end.
• Assuming thresholds are in the Act. They are not — they are in BPP circulars and change. Always answer threshold questions by reference to "the current BPP thresholds" rather than quoting a figure you are unsure of.
• Forgetting the National Council on Public Procurement. The NCPP is the apex body; the BPP is its regulatory arm. The FEC is the political approval body, not the procurement regulator.

The evaluation committee and bid security

The evaluation committee is appointed by the Accounting Officer and must include at least one technical expert, one financial expert, and the user representative. Members sign a declaration of no conflict of interest. Bids are evaluated first on technical responsiveness (pass/fail) and then on financial competitiveness — only technically responsive bids proceed to financial evaluation. Bid security (typically 2-3% of the estimated contract value) is required for open competitive bidding above the BPP threshold and is returned to unsuccessful bidders after award. The successful bidder's bid security is held until the performance bond is furnished.

Procurement records and audit trail

Every procurement must maintain a complete file: invitation to bid, bids received, bid opening minutes, evaluation report, BPP No Objection, Tenders Board/FEC approval, contract agreement, performance bond, and advance payment guarantee. This file is the audit trail the Auditor-General relies on during post-implementation audit, and missing documents are treated as evidence of due process failure.

Approval authorities at a glance