The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has issued comprehensive guidelines for implementing the federal government’s revised policy on contract variations and the mandatory use of final designs for public projects. 

Zira Nagga, head of press and public relations at BPP, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

According to the statement, the guidelines, issued pursuant to Sections 5(a) and (o) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA), 2007, follow the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval of the revised policy.

The BPP said the policy was conveyed through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Circular Ref. No. 59780/S.2/B/568 dated December 2025.

It said the new framework centralised the review and certification of all requests to revise contract sums and modify contract scope under the BPP.

“The latest guidelines supersede the 2013 circular, which required presidential approval for Revised Estimated Total Cost (RETC) and variations above 15 per cent of the initial contract sum or N1 billion,” the agency said.

It explained that under the revised framework, the applicable service-wide prior review and monetary thresholds would determine the appropriate approving authority for variations and scope modifications.

It added that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were now required to submit requests for variation orders, fluctuation claims and scope modifications directly to the BPP for review and certification.

The agency said no variation or fluctuation claim would proceed to the relevant approving authority without a BPP Certificate of No Objection.

It said the guidelines were designed to ensure transparent and legally compliant procedures for processing contract variations, while protecting the public interest and promoting accountability, value for money, and timely project delivery.

“Variations will only be approved where they are genuinely necessary, could not have been foreseen with reasonable diligence, and do not fundamentally alter the original scope of the contract. Unit rates for varied works must be consistent with the original contract rates,” it stated.

The BPP listed permissible grounds for variation as including unforeseen site conditions, material errors in design and bills of quantities (BOQ)/bills of engineering measurement and evaluation (BEME), and statutory or regulatory changes after contract execution.

Others are significant price escalations caused by macroeconomic shocks or force majeure, and value-engineering improvements that reduce costs without altering scope.

It, however, warned that variations arising from inadequate planning, avoidable design flaws or the addition of new components not contemplated in the original scope would not be accepted.

“Such additions must be procured as separate contracts,” it stated.

The BPP also clarified the distinction between variation and fluctuation claims.

It noted that fluctuation claims related to changes in the cost of labour, materials, and exchange rates must be handled strictly in accordance with the contract conditions.

The agency warned that contractors who deliberately delayed projects to generate fluctuation claims would be denied such claims and could be debarred if the claims were found to be bogus or overstated.

It further directed that all procurements must be based on approved final designs to reduce avoidable variations.

According to the BPP, the use of preliminary or flawed designs that lead to unnecessary variations will attract regulatory sanctions.

Regarding approval thresholds, the agency said that augmentation or variation sums, rather than the total revised cost, would determine the approving authority.

It explained that works costing N10 billion and above would require approval by the FEC, the National Judicial Council (NJC), or the National Assembly (NASS) Tenders Board.

The BPP said, “While variations between N5 billion and below N10 billion would go to ministerial tenders boards/NASS and works variations of between N75 million and below N5 billion would be handled by parastatal or judicial tenders boards.

“Variations below N75 million for works and N50 million for goods and services would be approved at the accounting officer level.”

It also stated that a BPP Certificate of No Objection constituted regulatory clearance to proceed to the approving authority, but did not amount to approval for payment.

The BPP said that certificates issued under the guidelines would remain valid for six months.

It warned that variations, fluctuation claims and scope additions processed without the BPP certification would attract sanctions under the PPA 2007, including suspension of officers and debarment of contractors.

The BPP further directed MDAs to publish details of approved variations on their websites and the BPP portal within 30 days of the tender board approval.

The information to be published, it said, included contractor names, original contract sums, augmentation sums, revised contract sums and grounds for the increase.

The statement quoted the Director-General of BPP,  Dr Adebowale Adedokun, as saying, “the guidelines reinforced the federal government’s commitment to fiscal discipline, transparency and value for money under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“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.”

According to the BPP, the policy takes immediate effect and applies to all ongoing projects, regardless of when the original contracts were awarded.

It added that MDAs have been directed to circulate the guidelines to accounting officers, tenders boards and procurement officers for strict compliance.

(NAN)