An Appraisal of Exclusion as an Anti-Corruption Measure in Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act of 2007

Abstract

The Public Procurement Act (PPA) empowers procuring entities and the Bureau of Public Procurement (Bureau) to exclude erring bidders from participating in procurement proceedings. Furthermore, it states seven grounds on which bidders may be excluded from participating in a procurement proceeding. Using doctrinal and comparative research methodologies, this paper analyses all these grounds, with emphasis on those that relate to corruption. It identifies the weaknesses in the provisions of the PPA on exclusion, one of which is that the power of the Bureau and procuring entities to exclude bidders from participating in procurement proceedings is discretionary, making it susceptible to abuse. In contrast, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Public Procurement, which the PPA is modelled after, mandates procuring entities to exclude erring bidders from participating in a procurement proceeding. To make exclusion an effective anti-corruption policy in Nigeria, this paper recommends, inter alia, that the grounds for exclusion should be divided into two categories: mandatory and discretionary. The exclusion of bidders on corruption-related grounds should be mandatory, while the exclusion of bidders on the grounds that are not related to corruption should continue to be discretionary.