No fewer than 815 contractors were recently shortlisted by the
Border Communities Development Agency (BDCA) for hundreds of
constituency projects despite failing to meet federal contracting
requirements, an ongoing investigation by PREMIUM TIMES has revealed.
It is the second time in less than a month that the agency has been exposed for procurement irregularity.
Being shortlisted presupposes that an applicant has satisfied all
criteria contained in the procurement guidelines published by a
government agency for the award of contracts.
But a fresh trove of procurement documents analysed by PREMIUM
TIMES revealed that the bulk of the prequalified contractors for the
2018 intervention projects by lawmakers did not meet the most basic
criteria spelt out in the invitation to tender advert released by the
BDCA in August 2018.
The agency advertised nearly 400 self-enrichment projects of lawmakers for which funds were earmarked in the 2018 budget.
The Nigerian government’s anti-corruption posturing could be
undermined if officials at the BDCA are allowed to go ahead with the
flawed contracting process in brazen defiance of the country’s extant
procurement regulations.
The value of the contracts ranges between N10 million and N200 million.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s son-in-law, Junaid Abdullahi, is the
executive secretary of the federal interventionist agency established in
2003 to develop the country’s border communities.
The agency has the mandate to provide social and infrastructural
amenities to international border communities in 21 states of the
federation, spanning over 105 local government areas.
2018 Constituency Projects
A list by a technical evaluation team constituted by the BDCA to
select qualified contractors for the award of the constituency projects
contracts showed that 987 bids from various contracting firms were
prequalified.
The list seen by PREMIUM TIMES contained names of companies
shortlisted for over 390 contract lots for the procurement and supply of
various goods, works and services in various locations across the
country.
The BDCA had invited bids from prospective experienced and
competent contractors/suppliers. They were asked to submit bids for the
projects in line with the criteria laid out clearly in the
invitation-to-tender advertisement published on July 29, 2018, for the
execution of the projects between late July and early August.
Bid guidelines
Submission of bids by prospective contractors was to be accompanied
with a three-year tax clearance certificate validated by the Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with a cumulative average annual turnover
of a minimum of N50 million for the period 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Also, prospective bidders were requested to submit their current
Industrial Training Fund (ITF) compliance certificate and Nigeria Social
Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) compliance certificate, all valid till
December 31, 2018.
The companies were required to produce evidence of registration on
the National Database of Federal Contractors, Consultants and service
providers by submitting the Interim Registration Report (IRR) expiring
January 1, 2019, or valid certificate issued by the Bureau for Public
Procurement (BPP).
Besides, submitted bids must be accompanied by the company’s
audited accounts for 2015, 2016 and 2017, along with other documents
attesting to their professional and technical competences.
Guidelines breaches
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that BDCA procurement officials
disregarded some key criteria for selection of prospective contractors,
as well as some requirements for the award of contracts, in a potential
violation of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007.
Section 23 (1) of the PPA (2007) does not allow federal agencies or
their management to manipulate procurement guidelines to favour any
party during a contracting process.
The law says: “Where a procuring entity has made a decision
with respect to the minimum qualification of suppliers, contractors or
service providers by requesting interested persons to submit
applications to prequalify, it shall set out precise criteria upon which
it seeks to give consideration to the applications and in reaching a
decision as to which supplier, contractor or service provider qualifies,
shall apply, only the criteria set out in the prequalification
documents and no more.”
Therefore, the BDCA appeared to have violated Nigeria’s procurement
law by disregarding its published guidelines for the selection of
contract applications in favour of unqualified companies.
Fresh findings
A further review of the procurement documents obtained by PREMIUM
TIMES exposed how only about 173 bids could be considered to have met
the minimum threshold for the award of the contracts advertised, out of
around 988 bids received from various contractors and prequalified by
the BDCA technical evaluation team.
The 173 bids were the only applications accompanied with both
evidence of current Pension Compliance Certificate (PCC) and the Company
Incomes Tax Clearance Certificate validated by the FIRS, both valid
till December 31, 2018.
Of these, about 13 that did not have company income tax clearance
certificates were from companies that were already enjoying tax holiday
incentives granted by the Nigerian government covering the three-year
period.
Still, further analysis by this newspaper showed that about 815 of
the prequalified or shortlisted bids (or over 83 percent) failed to meet
at least one or the two key criteria that define the minimum threshold
specified in the bid guidelines.
At least 94 of the bids were accompanied with neither the pension
compliance certificate nor tax clearance certificate, the two key
documents required to qualify to even enter a bid, our findings show.
Where the bids were accompanied with tax clearance certificates,
the cumulative average turnover of the companies fell far below the
specified benchmark of N50 million average annual turnover.
Biding without valid documents
For instance, Arcad Projects Limited (Lot 110) prequalified to bid
for the N200 million contract for the rehabilitation of selected rural
roads in Ekiti/Irepodun/Idi/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency was not
qualified.
The company’s bid was accompanied with its PENCOM certificate only without the requisite tax clearance document.
Similarly, SMV Nigeria Limited and Young Stallion Group Nigeria
Limited (Lot 83) submitted bids for the N150 million contract for the
construction of a mini-stadium at Kashere in Gombe Central Senatorial
District, but both were shortlisted despite not meeting the requirements
on tax clearance certificates.
Aicon Residential Limited (Lot 84) also submitted a bid for the
N150 million contract for the rehabilitation/maintenance of water
infrastructure in Yobe East Senatorial District without submitting its
tax clearance certificate.
ABG Synergy Limited was prequalified for the N50 million contract
to supply tricycles, popularly called “Keke NAPEP” in
Monguno/Marte/Nganzi Federal Constituency of Borno State despite not
attaching any of the two vital documents to its bid.
Budmusdru Hill Nigeria Limited and Khamz Intercontinental Limited
(Lot 386) shortlisted for a N100 million contract to train youth and
community leaders in Niger North Senatorial District also did not meet
the requirements.
De Poor Shall Rich Nigeria Limited and Dankole Global Services (Lot
281) were shortlisted to bid for the N60 million contract to supply
motorcycles in Edo Central Senatorial District without their tax
clearance certificates.
Yalele Farms Limited (Lot 315) was shortlisted for the N60 million
Strategic Empowerment and Training of Women and Youth in Zaki Federal
Constituency with absolutely no requisite documentation.
Equally, Al Nady Multi-Services Limited (Lot 23) bided for the
Solar lights contract in Gada/Goronyo Federal Constituency; Nitux
Engineering Services Limited (Lot 68) for the provision and installation
of solar street lights in Abia Central Senatorial District, and AIAG
Energy Limited (Lot 135) for the supply of Toyota Hilux pick-up vans at
Kaga/Gubio/Magumeri Federal Constituency (each worth N50 million),
without either pension or tax clearance certificates.
Yet there bids that met all the requirements but were deliberately
excluded from the list of those prequalified or shortlisted by the
agency.
A history of violation
PREMIUM TIMES had on December 14, 2018 revealed how BDCA)
shortlisted 18 unqualified companies for constituency projects of
federal lawmakers advertised between late July and early August.
About 33 companies were prequalified for eight zonal intervention
projects worth over N1.3 billion that were reviewed by this medium at
the time.
In shortlisting the firms, procurement officials at BDCA overlooked
tax clearance certificate, one of the top two requirements which any
interested firm must present to meet the basic requirement of contract
award.
In its invitation to tender published on July 29, the BDCA had said
all firms must have a minimum annual turnover of N50 million in taxes
over three years — but officials prequalified at least 18 firms whose
annual taxes were substantially below N50 million, according to tax
documents obtained by this newspaper at the time.
Estivus Nigeria Limited, the last of the 33 companies reviewed, did
not qualify for the contract because it obtained its tax clearance on
August 16, 2018, three days after the bidding process closed on August
13, 2018. It remained unclear how the firm was smuggled into the list of
companies whose bids were received as of deadline.
A BDCA official claimed that may have been an error which would
could still be corrected before the final companies are announced.Fresh
procurement documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES have revealed how the
Border Communities Development Agency (BDCA) shortlisted unqualified
companies for a slew of federal contracts across the country.
BDCA reacts, defends process
Regardless, the BDCA defended its handling of the bid process. The
agency in a statement said its interventionist activities have always
been carried out strictly, guided by the provisions of the BCDA
Establishment Act.
“Our activities have given a sense of belonging to those living
in border communities and boosted their confidence in the present
administration,” the agency insisted in its statement.
However, it noted that not meeting the cumulative average turnover
of N50 million over a three-year period does not disqualify any company
for further considerations for the award of the contracts.
“Each requirement is assigned a weighted score and cumulative
score of each contractor determines their prequalification or
otherwise,” the agency said.
Group writes procurement office, demands probe of agency
A group of anti-corruption campaigners has petitioned the Bureau of
Public Procurement (BPP), demanding an urgent probe of ongoing
procurement activities at the Border Community Development Agency
(BDCA).
The Council on African Security and Development (CASADE) said in a
December 18 letter to the BPP that it was alarmed a PREMIUM TIMES
investigation which exposed how procurement officials at the BDCA have
been shortlisting unqualified firms for federal contracts in the 2018
zonal intervention projects.
PREMIUM TIMES revealed last week that dozens of firms were
pre-qualified to get contracts for federal projects which lawmakers
inserted into the 2018 budget in continuation of their self-enrichment
tradition.
The group said the BPP, as the regulatory institution responsible
the supervision of federal contracting processes to ensure strict
compliance with procurement regulations, should immediately step in and
sanction the BDCA for previous violations, and forestall further
occurrences.
“We hereby request for the intervention of the BPP in the ongoing BCDA ZIP 2018 procurement process,” the group said in the letter to BPP. “Please assist in the fight against corruption.”
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Source: PREMIUM TIMES