Pre-Action Notice in the Administrative Review of Procurement Proceedings in Nigeria: A Comment on Etudo v Bureau of Public Procurement

Abstract

The paper analyses the decision of the Nigerian Court of Appeal in Etudo v Bureau of Public Procurement which affirms the decision of the Federal High Court that an aggrieved bidder must give a 30-day pre-action to the Bureau of Public Procurement (the Bureau) before it could appeal against the decision of the Bureau. It examines the implications of this decision on the bidder's right to access courts for a review of procurement proceedings. It submits that the decision would impede the access of aggrieved bidders to courts for the review of procurement proceedings. The paper recommends that the Public Procurement Act of 2007 should be amended to expressly provide that the service of pre-action notice is not a condition precedent for aggrieved bidders to appeal to against the decision of the Bureau.