The Federal Government, through the Bureau of Public Procurement, has barred Ministries, Departments, and Agencies from processing upward contract revisions without first obtaining a Bureau certificate.
The directive was announced on Sunday alongside a new set of guidelines centralising the review of all contract variations and scope modifications under the authority of the Bureau.
According to a statement signed by the Head of Press and Public Relations of the Bureau, Zira Nagga, the reform is aimed at blocking one of the major channels for cost inflation and corruption within Nigeria’s public procurement system.
The guidelines were issued pursuant to Sections 5(a) and (o) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and give effect to a Federal Executive Council-approved policy communicated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in December 2025.
The statement, titled ‘Contract Variations: BPP Releases Guidelines,’ explained that the new framework replaces the 2013 guidelines, which only required Presidential approval for contract variations exceeding 15 per cent of the original contract sum or above N1bn.
Under the revised framework, every request for a variation order, fluctuation claim, or scope modification, regardless of the amount involved, must first be submitted to the BPP for review and certification before proceeding to the relevant approving authority.
The Bureau stated that a BPP Certificate of No Objection, valid for six months, is now a mandatory condition for further processing of any contract variation.
It warned that any variation approved without the certificate would attract sanctions under the Public Procurement Act 2007, including suspension of responsible officers and debarment of contractors.
The statement quoted the Director-General of the Bureau, Adebowale Adedokun, as saying that the new rules are intended to eliminate abuse in the procurement process.
“Variations must not become a backdoor for cost inflation and scope creep. These guidelines ensure that every adjustment to a public contract is necessary, justified, and delivers value to Nigerians. The BPP will apply these rules rigorously and fairly across all MDAs,” Adedokun said.
According to the guidelines, acceptable reasons for contract variation include unforeseen site conditions, design or bill of quantity errors, statutory changes after contract execution, major price escalations caused by macroeconomic shocks or force majeure, and value engineering improvements that reduce cost without altering the original project scope.
However, the Bureau stated that variations resulting from poor planning, avoidable design flaws, or the addition of entirely new project components not originally captured in the contract scope would be rejected outright.
Such additions, it noted, must be procured as separate contracts to prevent the misuse of variations as a means of awarding new projects under existing agreements.
On fluctuation claims involving changes in labour, material, and exchange rate costs, the guidelines introduced measures to discourage deliberate project delays.
The Bureau stated that contractors found to have intentionally slowed project execution in order to generate larger fluctuation claims would lose entitlement to such claims and could face debarment if the claims are discovered to be inflated or fraudulent.
The revised approval thresholds are now tied to the augmentation amount rather than the total revised contract value.
Under the new structure, works variations of N10bn and above will require approval from the Federal Executive Council, while variations between N5bn and N10bn will be handled by the Ministerial Tenders Board.
Variations between N75m and N5bn will be approved by the Parastatal Tenders Board, while amounts below N75m for works or N50m for goods and services can be approved at the Accounting Officer level.
The Bureau also directed all MDAs to use approved final designs before commencing procurement processes.
It warned that the use of incomplete or defective designs leading to avoidable contract variations would attract regulatory sanctions.
To improve transparency, the BPP mandated all MDAs to publish details of approved contract variations within 30 days of Tenders Board approval.
The information to be disclosed includes the contractor’s name, original contract value, augmentation amount, revised contract sum, and reasons for the variation.
The Bureau added that it would periodically submit reports on reviewed and approved variations to the Federal Executive Council.
According to the statement, the guidelines take immediate effect and apply to all ongoing government projects, irrespective of when the original contracts were awarded.
