The Network for the Actualization of Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD) has announced its intention to take legal action against the National Population Commission (NPC) for aspects of its proposed 2023 census budget, which it claims violates the Procurement Act 2007 by awarding contracts without due process.
The Head of Office of NEFGAD, Akingunola Omoniyi, issued a statement urging the NPC to address the issues raised in the proposed budgets in order to avoid legal action.
NEFGAD has however, written a letter to the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) claiming that the Commission did not follow due process in the procurement process for awarding contracts for the purchase of Personal Digital Assistant (PDAs) and designing of an E-recruitment Portal for the 2023 census.
The letter alleges that the Commission did not conduct open competitive bidding during bid solicitation. The NEFGAD has threatened to take legal action against the NPC for violating provisions of the Procurement Act 2007. The Head of Office of the non-governmental agency, Akingunola Omoniyi, urged the NPC to take appropriate measures regarding the budget.
A section of the letter stated: “Your unit rate of N110,242.39 for Personal Digital Assistant; N15, 750.00 for backpacks protective pouch and estimated logistics of N960,000,000 are grossly exaggerated and your approach to the entire exercise suggested high level internal collusion between the Commission and the selected bidders’’
“The percentage Customs duty of 20.24% adopted by your Commission is against the government approved rate of 20% for electronic gadgets, among numerous infractions observed in the entire process.
“That your office maintains unhealthy communication with ‘selected’ bidders against the dictate of the Public Procurement Act.”
“NEFGAD therefore requested information on Request for Expression of Interest for the contract and evidence of compliance with presidential executive order on local content promotion as listed in the last part of the letter which is hereby attached, ” Omoniyi asserted.
