From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal Government has taken steps to reduce financial risks associated with contractual agreements and judgment debts with the launch of the Federal Complex Contracts Process and Administration (FCAS).
FCAS is specifically designed to enhance operational efficiency and reduce financial risk.
Over the years, Nigeria has faced controversies arising from contractual agreements, one of the most notable being the P&ID contract.
The Solicitor General of Nigeria and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, who spoke at the launch of FCAS in Abuja, decried the challenges, including lack of clarity in contracts entered into by the Federal Government, despite the presence of some existing laws, such as the Procurement and Fiscal Acts.
The event was the 2023 Manual and Workshop Engagement with Legal Advisors and Key Stakeholders, with the theme: “Strengthening Contract Management and Compliance in Federal Governance.”
Jedy-Agba, who frowned at the manner in which existing laws have been undermined, explained that Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are governed by law.
According to her, “You cannot just do what you like. We expect that you have the capacity, which should reflect in the quality of the agreement you are bringing.”
She charged Legal Advisors to do their best to avert failed contracts and further mitigate the effects.
Jedy-Agba welcomed the idea of collaboration as a key to enhancing effective implementation of projects delivered on behalf of the government.
On his part, a deputy director in the ministry, Mr. Augustine Uchechukwu Kalu, said the new initiative would guide the ministry and various departments on how to navigate the FCAS platform to achieve positive results.
According to him, one of its fundamental objectives is to ensure that unnecessary projects are not undertaken.
He disclosed that about 40 MDAs have been unbundled through its implementation.
Kalu assured that the programme would not be abandoned midway by the Federal Government.
“We will look at the feasibility studies, Public-Private Partnership arrangements, funding arrangements, and due diligence both within and outside the country, so that projects are not abandoned,” Kalu said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Consultant to the Ministry on FCAS, Dr. Mark Osa Igiehon, expressed the government’s readiness to take action through the justice ministry to avert situations like the P&ID contract.
According to him, the new plan would enable the government to enter into projects and contracts in a more sophisticated manner, using specialists not only to minimise the possibility of project failure but also to process and record contracts in the most proper way.
“Government is now ready to take action on such high-level, high-value, and high-risk projects so that in the future, we will have fewer contract failures and will not have to pay huge sums of money on failed contracts,” Igiehon said.