PowerUp Nigeria, an advocacy group in the Republic of Nigeria, has questioned whether there is a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government to deny local meter manufacturers the opportunity to win bid for the supply of 1.2million meters via World Bank loan as advertised by TCN PMU.
Making reference to newspaper advertisement, Adetayo Adegbemle, Executive Director of PowerUp Nigeria, noted in a press statement that there are 5 Lots in what was advertised, stating that each of the 5 Lots are asked to raise / submit Bid Security in US Dollars.
He said, for instance, anyone applying for Lot 4 is to raise a Bid Security of $450,000.
According to him, local meter manufacturers are struggling to survive in the Nigerian economy, adding that even those who patronised for the NMMP are still being owed.
He, therefore, whether the huge amount of money in Bid security is intended to push local meter manufacturers out of business.
“It must be stated that We have had this kind of World Bank Loan with similar conditions before(2012) However, none of the Imported Meters procured under that scheme are presently still in the system.
“Again, this is a World Bank Loan, which we are definitely repaying. It is therefore imperative that we also use this to deepen our local manufacturers’ capacity.
The PowerUp Nigeria boss argued that the provisions in the advertisement is counter productive and demanded an immediate review to ensure that Bid Securities are reduced downward.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
