LAGOS, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013: Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) have submitted a joint Freedom of Information request to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) asking for detailed information on the procurement records for the controversial purchase of two BMW bullet-proof cars for the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah.
In the letter addressed to the Director General of NCAA, Mr. Folayele Akinkuotu, MRA and PPDC asked for the procurement records for the purchase by the NCAA of two BMW 760 Li HSS vehicles with chassis numbers WBAHP41050DW68032 and WBAHP41010DW68044.
Specifically, the groups requested for copies of the procurement and contract records for the purchase of the BMW vehicles, including:evidence of budgetary allocation for the procurement process; the procurement plan for the purchase of the vehicles; evidence of advertisements of the planned purchase in various newspapers, the NCAA website, the Procurement Journal, international publications, etc., soliciting for bids or inviting prospective bidders to submit bids for the procurement; and a list of all bids tendered for the procurement from when it was advertised till the close of the bid advertisement.
MRA and PPDC also requested copies of the minutes of the bid opening meeting; the attendance list indicating all individuals and the organizations they that were represent at the bid opening session; the NEEDS assessment document, if it is in a separate document from the procurement plan; standard bidding documents that were issued to all the bidders; documentation on the design and specification requirements, if this is not contained in the standard bidding documents; documentation on the scope of the referred procurement processes; copies of the minutes of bid evaluation meetings, records of bid evaluation, recommendation of bid evaluation committee and minutes of meeting of the Tenders Board awarding the contract to the successful companies.
They also asked for copies of the certificate of no objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP); signed letter of award and final contract award documents for the award of the contract and any subsequently amendment or modification, if applicable; pro forma invoice; and documents showing delivery of procured vehicles.
In the letter signed by Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, the groups said they expect prompt receipt of the documents not later than 7 days of their application as required by the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
In a separate letter, the two organizations also made another joint request for the Annual budget and the Public Procurement plans of the NCAA for the years 2012 and 2013.
