President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ended the controversial tenure of Mr. Mamman Ahmadu as the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
Government said Ahmadu’s exit “is part of a larger reorganization effort in the public procurement system to reposition the agency for greater efficiency and transparency.”
According to a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, today Saturday, June 15, 2024, the Director-General is to hand over to the most senior officer in the Bureau, pending the appointment of a new Director-General.
President Muhammadu Buhari had confirmed Ahmadu’s appointment as Director-General through a letter dated May 2, 2023, three weeks to the end of that presidency.
However, Later in that month of May 2023, the Network for the Actualisation of Social Growth and Viable Development (NAFGAD) asked for the immediate resignation of Mamman Ahmadu, over the alleged “illegality” of his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari.
It took the matter to A Federal High Court in Abuja.
NAFGAD claimed that his appointment never had any record of approval from the national council as stipulated in section 7 (1) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
Section 7 (1) of the act states: “There shall be for the bureau, a director-general who shall be appointed by the president, on the recommendation of the national council after competitive selection”.
The group, therefore, requested that the director-general resigns and refunds the salaries he has received since his appointment.
“Sequel to your appointment, sir, there exists, till date, no record of a national council that was set up to perform the role of recommendation to the president regarding your appointment as the director-general,” the letter reads.
“This is a fundamental breach and one whose relevance cannot be overemphasised and as a result, your appointment as director-general is void, illegal and contrary to the provisions of the above-stated act.
“On the strength of the relevant sections of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, as highlighted, we humbly request and make the following demands herein stated in this correspondence:
“That, you vacate/resign from the position of director-general of the BPP. That, you cease, refrain, desist or restrain from parading or acting as the director-general of the BPP.
“That, the office of the director-general should be left vacant pending the setting up and constitution of a national council which shall recommend to the president for the appointment of a director-general.
“That the director-general refunds all salaries due to the office of the director-general paid to him from the period of 2016 till date into the government account.”
