NIGERIA’S UNDERDEVELOPMENT BASED ON PROCUREMENT FAILURES – YPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

The Young Progressives Party presidential candidate, Peter Agada, has blamed Nigeria’s poverty and slow development on failures in the management of government contracts and public spending.

In a statement on Monday, Agada said successive administrations had failed to fully implement the Public Procurement Act, 2007, particularly provisions establishing the National Council on Public Procurement.

He argued that enforcing the law would allow closer scrutiny of government projects, reduce inflated costs and help ensure that public funds produce meaningful benefits for Nigerians.

According to Agada, key procurement principles—including efficiency, value for money, transparency and fair competition—have been neglected.

He said establishing the council would strengthen oversight and support the Bureau of Public Procurement in examining contracts and monitoring how public resources are spent.

Agada also called for reforms in engineering, procurement and contracting, citing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road project as an example of why stronger scrutiny was needed.

As part of his development proposals, he outlined a plan to provide ₦40 million to each of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards for community projects. He said the funding would come from sources outside the Federation Account Allocation Committee system.

Under the proposal, a 13-member steering committee in each ward would manage the funds and oversee projects guided by a development master plan.

Agada listed foreign direct investment, land-title valuation, reduced waste, subsidy savings and lower governance costs as potential funding sources.

He maintained that the initiative would leave the existing FAAC and tax structures unchanged, while detailed reviews of government spending would identify savings that could be redirected towards community development.