The Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has requested $8.93m from the World Bank to procure 21 items, which included office stationery, office furniture, office supplies, office equipment, and vehicles.
The requests were made under the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability project, which was initiated in 2018.
The SFTAS project was designed to strengthen transparency and accountability at the sub-national level and will end this year.
A total of $1.5bn was committed to the project in two batches of $750m (December 2018 and December 2020) by the World Bank.
Although the money is a grant to state governments, it is a loan to the Federal Government.
When contacted by our correspondent, the SFTAS‘ Communications Specialist, Ibrahim Mohammed, said that it was a regular procedure to purchase items needed for a project.
He noted that the items were acquired at the start of the project and were used to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
He said, “When a program starts, there is the procurement of the basic items needed for the jobs. So, procurement was made in terms of providing furniture for the office, ICT infrastructure, and the rest. They are all for the use of the office, not the ministry or department.
“The office is situated in the Home Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance. We have implementing agencies and partners like the DMO, AGF, OGP, and the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation. All the salaries for consultants are drawn from that fund, and the consultants offer technical assistance to the States.”
