The Federal Government has introduced stricter procurement guidelines aimed at reducing contract inflation, corruption, and abuse of variation orders across government projects.
Under the new rules announced by the Bureau of Public Procurement, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies can no longer process upward revisions of contract sums without first obtaining a Bureau certificate of approval.
The directive was issued pursuant to the Public Procurement Act 2007 and follows a policy approved by the Federal Executive Council in December 2025. According to the Bureau, the reform is designed to block loopholes often used to inflate project costs and introduce unauthorized scope ces.
The new framework replaces the previous 2013 guideline which only required Presidential approval for variations above 15 percent of the original contract value or above N1 billion. Under the updated policy, every request involving contract variations, fluctuation claims, or scope modifications must now be reviewed and certified by the Bureau before further approval can be granted.
The Bureau stated that a Certificate of No Objection, valid for six months, is now compulsory for all contract adjustments. Any variation processed without the certificate may attract sanctions including suspension of public officers and debarment of contractors.
Director General of the Bureau, Adebowale Adedokun, said the guidelines are intended to ensure that all contract ces are justified, transparent, and beneficial to Nigerians.
The new rules also distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable grounds for contract variation. Approved reasons include unforeseen site conditions, statutory ces, significant price increases caused by economic shocks, and engineering improvements that reduce costs without cing project scope.
However, requests arising from poor planning, avoidable design errors, or the addition of entirely new project components will be rejected. Such additions must now be procured as separate contracts.
The Bureau also introduced stricter controls on fluctuation claims to discourage contractors from deliberately delaying projects to increase costs. Contractors found guilty of inflating claims risk being blacklisted.
In addition, all government agencies are now required to publish details of approved contract variations on their websites and on the Bureau’s portal within 30 days of approval to improve transparency and accountability.
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