Bilkisu Adejoh
In a bold call for transparency, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) is urging the Ministry of Steel Development and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to uphold strict transparency and legal adherence in appointing a Transaction Adviser to revitalize the Ajaokuta Steel Complex Limited (ASCL) and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in Itakpe.
This demand, CISLAC insists, is essential for ensuring a rigorous and equitable procurement process that respects public trust.
Through two meticulously detailed letters signed by CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the organization raised serious concerns regarding irregularities in the procurement process, which it argues may breach the Public Procurement Act of 2007.
CISLAC, the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International, is especially concerned about the absence of clear, legally mandated evaluation criteria, an issue that threatens the selection’s integrity.
According to CISLAC, key areas of the Request for Proposal (RFP) lack crucial details, such as the assigned weights for quality and cost factors, violating Section 51(1) of the Procurement Act.
Rafsanjani emphasized that without disclosing technical scores prior to opening financial proposals, the selection process undermines fairness and contravenes Section 51(4) of the Act.
CISLAC also noted the absence of explicit evaluation criteria, cautioning that this omission risks arbitrary scoring and could create room for bias.
Moreover, CISLAC expressed alarm over the exclusion of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) from this process, a move that, in CISLAC’s view, infringes on the ICRC Act, 2005, and statutory mandates for public-private partnerships.
This exclusion, the organization warned, raises both legal and transparency concerns, especially for a project carrying such high stakes.
CISLAC further underscored the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in observing procurement processes to safeguard public interest.
Rafsanjani highlighted that Section 57 of the Act mandates transparent disclosure of conflicts of interest, a key safeguard for impartiality in such critical decisions. Additionally, the letter pointed to possible breaches of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, ministerial oversight duties, and ethics standards, which are crucial in maintaining the fairness of this process.
With federal investment in ASCL and NIOMCO exceeding $7 billion over four decades without substantial outcomes, CISLAC insists that Nigeria must avoid repeating past mistakes.
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