The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to stop processing any increase in contract sums without first securing clearance from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
The new directive, announced on Sunday, also places the review of all contract variations and scope adjustments under the direct supervision of the Bureau.
According to a statement issued by the Head of Press and Public Relations of the BPP, Zira Nagga, the measure is aimed at tackling contract inflation and corruption within Nigeria’s procurement system.
The guidelines were issued in line with Sections 5(a) and (o) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and are based on a policy approved by the Federal Executive Council and communicated through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in December 2025.
The statement was titled, “Contract Variations: BPP Releases Guidelines.”
Under the new framework, every request involving variation orders, fluctuation claims or changes to project scope must now be forwarded to the BPP for examination and certification before any approving authority can act on it.
The new policy replaces the 2013 guideline which only required presidential approval for variations exceeding 15 per cent of the original contract value or above N1bn.
Nagga explained that all approvals must now be backed by a BPP Certificate of No Objection, which will remain valid for six months.
He warned that any variation processed without the certificate would attract sanctions under the Public Procurement Act 2007, including suspension of officials involved and possible blacklisting of contractors.
The statement also quoted the Director-General of the BPP, Adebowale Adedokun, as saying, “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.”
The Bureau clarified that only specific conditions would qualify for contract variations. These include unforeseen site challenges, mistakes in design or bills of quantities, statutory changes after contracts have been awarded, major economic shocks affecting prices, force majeure, and value engineering improvements that reduce costs without changing the project scope.
However, the guidelines ruled out variations caused by poor planning, avoidable design errors or the introduction of entirely new project components not captured in the original contract agreement.
According to the Bureau, such additions must be treated as separate contracts to prevent abuse of the variation process as a means of awarding fresh projects without due procedure.
On fluctuation claims linked to rising costs of labour, materials and foreign exchange, the government also introduced stricter measures against deliberate project delays.
The guidelines stated that contractors found intentionally slowing down projects to increase fluctuation claims would lose such claims and could face debarment if the claims are discovered to be false or exaggerated.
The revised approval structure now focuses on the value of the increase rather than the total revised contract amount.
Under the arrangement, works variations from N10bn and above will require Federal Executive Council approval, while requests between N5bn and N10bn will go before the Ministerial Tenders Board.
Variations ranging from N75m to N5bn will be handled by the Parastatal Tenders Board, while amounts below N75m for works, or N50m for goods and services, can be approved by the Accounting Officer.