Procurement Glossary for Nigeria

Institutions and roles

Procuring entity.
Any public body engaged in procurement, including a Ministry, extra-ministerial office, government agency, parastatal, or corporation. This is the Act's own term for “the government office running the tender.”
BPP (Bureau of Public Procurement).
The federal regulatory body that oversees public procurement, sets thresholds and standards, and runs the contractor registration and NOCOPO systems described in our BPP Registration and NOCOPO guide.
Accounting officer.
The person charged with line supervision of the conduct of all procurement processes within a procuring entity.
Approving authority.
The person charged with overall responsibility for the functioning of a Ministry, extra-ministerial department, or corporation, distinct from the accounting officer's day-to-day supervisory role.
Tenders Board.
A board established in every procuring entity, with membership prescribed by BPP regulation, responsible for the award of procurements of goods, works, and services within the monetary threshold set for that entity. Where pre-qualification is required, the Tenders Board's chairman constitutes a technical evaluation sub-committee to assess bids.
Relevant authority.
The Act's term for external bodies with a role in procurement enforcement, explicitly including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission.

Procurement methods

The Act sets out one default method and several exceptions, each with its own conditions:

Open competitive bidding.
The default method: the offer of prices by individuals or firms competing openly for a contract, privilege, or right to supply specified goods, works, or services. Invitations must be advertised at least six weeks before the submission deadline, in at least two national newspapers and the Bureau's procurement journal, plus an international publication for International Competitive Bidding.
National Competitive Bidding.
The solicitation of bids restricted to domestic contractors and suppliers registered or incorporated to do business under Nigerian law.
International Competitive Bidding.
The solicitation of bids from both domestic and foreign contractors and suppliers, used above monetary thresholds set by BPP.
Two-stage tendering.
Used when the procuring entity can't fully specify its requirements upfront, first stage collects proposals without a price, second stage invites final priced tenders on a single, now-clarified specification.
Restricted tendering.
Used when goods, works, or services are available only from a limited number of suppliers, or when evaluating a large number of tenders would cost more than it's worth relative to the contract value. Requires BPP's prior approval and a notice in the procurement journal.
Request for quotations (RFQ).
Used below a monetary threshold set by BPP regulation. Generally requires quotations from at least three unrelated suppliers, no negotiation is permitted, and award goes to the lowest-priced responsive quotation.
Direct procurement.
Single-source procurement without competitive bidding, permitted only on specific grounds: an exclusive supplier with no reasonable alternative, urgent unforeseeable need, standardization or compatibility with an existing contract, or national security. The procuring entity must record its grounds for the decision.
Emergency procurement.
A narrower category than direct procurement, for cases where the country faces disaster, war, or an Act of God, where publicly owned assets face serious deterioration without urgent action, or where a project would be seriously delayed for want of a minor-value item.
Domestic preference / margin of preference.
An optional price advantage a procuring entity may grant to domestic bidders, or to bidders offering locally manufactured goods, when comparing them against foreign competitors under International Competitive Bidding. BPP sets the limits and calculation formula by regulation.

Bid terms, security, and payment

Solicitation documents.
The Act's umbrella term for the bid documents, or any other documents used to solicit offers, proposals, or quotations, covering what our Government Tender Documents Explained guide breaks down section by section.
Bid security / tender security.
A guarantee assuring the procuring entity that a bidder won't withdraw its bid within the validity period, and will sign the contract if awarded. Capped by the Act at no more than 2% of the bid price, typically a bank guarantee from a bank acceptable to the procuring entity. Covered as Form G-6 in our tender documents guide.
Validity period.
The period during which a bidder agrees not to increase its bid price or remove any bid components. A procuring entity can request an extension; a bidder can decline one, in which case the bid simply expires.
Substantially responsive.
A bid that conforms to the tender document's requirements without material deviation, reservation, or omission. The exact three-part test for what counts as a material deviation, and why it matters so much, is covered in our guide to writing a winning proposal.
Lowest evaluated responsive bid / tender.
The lowest-priced bid among those that clear the substantial responsiveness bar. Not simply the cheapest bid overall, the cheapest bid that also qualifies.
Post-qualification.
The check run on the lowest evaluated tenderer, after price comparison, to confirm they're actually capable of performing the contract: professional and technical competence, financial resources, equipment, managerial capacity, and relevant experience.
Mobilization fee.
An upfront payment to help a contractor start work, capped by the Act at no more than 15% of contract value, and required to be backed by an unconditional bank guarantee or insurance bond.
Performance guarantee / performance security.
A precondition for any contract that includes a mobilization fee. Set by the Act at not less than 10% of the contract value, or an amount equal to the mobilization fee requested, whichever is higher. Covered as Form G-9 in our tender documents guide.
Advance payment security.
The security a successful tenderer provides specifically against an advance payment, where the contract includes one. Covered as Form G-10 in our tender documents guide.
Retention.
Common in works contracts specifically: a percentage of the contract sum withheld through the defects liability period, released once the contractor has remedied any defects found. Covered in our construction procurement guide.
Interim performance certificate.
Evidence that a contractor has performed its obligations up to a stated level, short of full completion, commonly required before further payment is released after a mobilization fee.
Monetary threshold.
The value limit, set in Naira by BPP, above or below which a given approving authority may not award a contract without escalating to a higher authority.
Minor value.
A monetary value that falls within the threshold set for a given approving authority, the Act's own term for what counts as small enough to approve at that level.

Certificates and registrations covered in this series

These recur across nearly every guide in this series and are defined in full, with sourcing, where linked:

Certificate of No Objection.
BPP's authentication that due process and the Act have been followed in a procurement, required before a procuring entity can enter into contract or release payment above the prior review threshold. Covered in depth, including the NOCOPO online system BPP now uses to issue it, in our BPP Registration and NOCOPO guide.
CAC, TCC, PenCom, ITF, NSITF, BPP registration.
The core set of compliance certificates and registrations a supplier needs before a bid clears documentation review. Defined individually, with current fees and renewal cycles where confirmed, in our Procurement Compliance Checklist.
ARCON, COREN, QSRBN, CORBON.
The professional registration bodies for architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, and builders respectively, whose registered members are legally required to prepare specific construction contract documents under the National Building Code. Covered in our construction procurement guide.
Section 54 / administrative review.
The Act's formal complaint process for a bidder who believes a procuring entity breached the Act during a specific procurement, escalating from the accounting officer to BPP to the Federal High Court. Covered in our guide to common rejection reasons.

How CoreTender helps

CoreTender surfaces the specific term or clause you're looking at, whether it's a threshold, a form number, or a certificate requirement, linked back to the guide that explains what it means for your bid, so you're not leaving the platform to look up what a Tenders Board or a Certificate of No Objection actually is mid-submission.

Related guides

This glossary closes out our Nigeria procurement series. Start with the pillar guide, How Government Tenders Work in Nigeria, for how all of these pieces fit together across the tender lifecycle, or jump directly to any of the seven guides linked above for the term you're chasing down.

References

This glossary summarizes definitions and figures set out in the Public Procurement Act 2007 and a published Federal Government of Nigeria Standard Bidding Document, as of August 2026, for general orientation purposes. It is not legal advice. Some thresholds and figures (mobilization fee, performance guarantee, bid security caps) are ceilings or floors set by the Act itself; the specific percentages and terms that apply to any individual contract are set in that contract and its tender document. Confirm current figures against the Act and your specific tender document before relying on them.