BPP Issues New Guidelines for Contract Variations

The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has issued comprehensive guidelines regarding contract variations, pursuant to Section 5 of the Public Procurement Act 2007. These guidelines, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and conveyed via SGF Circular Ref No 59780 S 2 B 568 dated December 2025, aim to centralize the review of requests for contract sum modifications and scope changes.

The new framework supersedes the 2013 guidelines and mandates that any variation above 1 billion naira requires presidential approval. The guidelines emphasize that variations must be genuinely justified and not fundamentally alter the original contract scope.

Specific permissible grounds for variations include unforeseen site conditions and regulatory changes. The approval thresholds for variations are set at 10 billion naira for FEC, 5 billion to 10 billion naira for ministerial tender boards, and below 75 million naira for parastatal tender boards.

The guidelines also stipulate that any fluctuation claims must be strictly handled according to contract conditions and that non-compliance may attract regulatory sanctions.