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Invitation
To Tender: Maintenance Of Generators At Aso
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By Reuben Abati The
Guardian Sunday June 14 ,2009 |
DUE to a recent act of sabotage which
resulted in power outage at the
Presidential Villa, Asokoro, Abuja, the
President and Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Umaru
Musa Yar'çdua out of concern that this
national security breach should never
again occur anywhere near the seat of
power has directed the Tenders Board at
the Presidency to issue the following
invitation to tender for the supply, and
maintainance of generating plants to
ensure uninterrupted power supply at the
Presidential Villa, and to forestall
such a situation as occurred on
Wednesday, June 10, when the Federal
Executive Council Chambers and the
entire Presidential Villa were without
electricity.
Although the incident lasted for about
10 minutes and was promptly brought
under control by a combined team of the
nation's ever-vigilant and loyal
intelligence agencies, His Excellency
has directed that the cause(s) of the
power outage, remote and immediate,
should be carefully investigated.
Initial investigations by the
intelligence agencies led by the
National Security Adviser, all the
Service Chiefs and the Inspector General
of Police indicate that the generating
plants in the Presidential Villa may
have been compromised by persons with
Niger Delta, June 12, and opposition
party sympathies. Mr President views
this act of sabotage with all the
seriousness that it deserves. To this
end, a high-powered inter-Ministerial
committee to be headed by the Hon.
Minister of Power has been set up to
submit its findings to the Presidency
within two weeks. Members of the
committee are permitted to seek
technical support from any part of the
world, including the prestigious Harvard
University. Considering the seriousness
of the matter still and the need to
address it expeditiously, this
invitation to tender is hereby issued
under Presidential seal:
(1) Companies, individuals and other
relevant agencies are invited to submit
tender bids for the purchase, supply and
maintenance of heavy duty generators
with capacity to supply electricity to
the Presidential Villa for 24 hours
non-stop, seven days a week, and 365
days a year.
(2) The quotation for the aforesaid
generators must include the cost of
maintenance. Successful bidders may be
awarded a provisional licence to enable
them import diesel and petrol at
concessionary rates for the exclusive
use of generators within the
Presidential Villa, and its environs,
and to prevent such a strange situation
as was reported that efforts "to put on
standby generators were not successful"
or that there is fuel scarcity at the
Presidency.
(3) Please note that the Tenders Board
is interested only in such generating
plants that are rugged, capable of
withstanding extreme pressure, and not
such that may be prone to breaking down
during Executive Council meetings or
receptions for visiting foreign
dignitaries.This government takes its
job seriously and is determined to
ensure that serious events such as
Council meetings are not disrupted by
power outages. We thank God that the
power outage on Wednesday did not occur
at a time when His Excellency was
receiving a foreign dignitary.
(4) The Federal Government may at a
future date consider the award of
contracts for the supply and maintenance
of generators for nationwide
distribution as an interim measure to
ensure the fulfilment of the President's
honest promise of 6, 000 MW of
electricity by December 2009.
(5) This release therefore marks the
first step in the declaration of a state
of emergency in the power sector.
(6) Respondents to this invitation to
bid must be only persons of great
patriotic commitment. Successful bidders
must be willing to subject themselves
and the generators that they supply to
rigorous security screening. Where any
whiff of sabotage or mischief is
detected, the act shall be treated as an
act of treasonable felony. Generators
with Tokunbo, or used second-hand parts,
are unacceptable.
(7) The Presidency is in the process of
forwarding an Executive Bill to the
National Assembly to provide legislative
protection for all generating plants
owned by the Government of Nigeria.
These are classified as national assets,
held in trust for the Nigerian people.
(8) The President and Commander in Chief
of the Armed Forces announced in May
that his government will do anything to
ensure regular and uninterrupted supply
of electricity in the country. The
generator initiative is one of the many
templates for fulfilling this promise to
Nigerians. Suppliers of generating sets
must be prepared to see their engagement
as part of a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) arrangement.
(9) Bidders must also note that the
Presidency hopes through this initiative
to create thousands of jobs for
Nigerians as part of the government's
employment generation drive.
Presidential generators have up till now
been managed by German contractors. The
President now directs that bidders for
the supply and maintenance of the
Presidential fleet of generators must
show proof of Nigerian citizenship.
(10) Proof of capacity to provide
insurance cover for the generating
plants will be an added advantage.
(11) Successful bidders may also be
required to be members of a special
committtee, soon to be constituted which
would look into the modalities for
incorporating this generator initiative
into government's objective of making
Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies
in the world by the year 2020.
(12) Special consideration may be
accorded Nigerians in Diaspora with
technical expertise, as part of
government's determination to provide
opportunities for Nigerians abroad. This
should help them manage the challenges
of the global credit crunch and insipre
many of them to return to their
fatherland. Many Nigerians abroad have
been writing unpatriotic articles
against their country on the internet.
Government is interested in giving them
opportunities to return home to be part
of the great renewal that is on-going
across the country.
(13) The bids may not include the
notorious ten per cent and no price
variations will be allowed once
contracts are awarded.
(14) The bid assessment process will be
confidential and fair and strictly in
accordance with the rule of law.
Interested parties are advised not to
attempt to influence the Tenders Board.
Traditional rulers, Pastors, Imams,
spiritual consultants, and party
chairmen are hereby strictly advised not
to interfere.
(15) Six copies of the bid application
should reach The Tenders Board, The
Presidential Generating Sets Initiative,
Presidential Villa, Asokoro, not later
than two weeks from the date of this
publication.
(16) Only shortlisted bidders will be
contacted.
Finally, the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria remains committed to
his promise to ensure uninterrupted
power supply across the country.
Saboteurs in the power and energy sector
who are thwarting this administration's
attempts to serve Nigerians and meet
their expectations are hereby advised
that henceforth there shall be zero
tolerance for their misdeeds. Our dear
country Nigeria will be 50 years old as
an independent nation in 2010. Now is
the time to begin the preparations for
the celebration of that grand occassion.
A Presidential Task Force drawn from the
elite corps of the Armed Forces, is
being considered to provide special
security for government-owned
generators. The Power Holding Company of
Nigeria (PHCN) will soon be subjected to
a process of audit, prelude to its
likely disbandment. We cannot afford to
fail in the delivery of critical
infrastructure, the first item on the
seven-point agenda.
We thank Nigerians for their
understanding. Government counts on the
support of the generality of the people
as it wages war against the forces of
darkness.
Chairman, Tenders Board in charge of
Presidential Power Generating Sets
Sgd.
Justice For The UNILORIN Five
The Supreme Court ruling reinstating
five of the 49 lecturers who were sacked
by the University of Ilorin authorities
is a triumph for the rule of law. The
apex court is scheduled to give
judgement in relation to the 44 other
lecturers, five of whom have since died,
in September.
The affected academics have every reason
to feel truly vindicated. Their case has
been pursued in and out of the courts
since 2001, all appeals by concerned
citizens and civil society groups to get
the Governing Council of the University
of Ilorin and teh Federla Government to
change their mind failed. ASUU, at the
national level had also consistently
defended the interest of the 49
lecturers. When the matter was brought
up with President Yar'çdua in 2007, the
official position was that the Federal
Government could not interfere, because
the matter was already in court.
It is just as well that reprieve and
justive have come the way of the
UNILORIN 49 at last. The present apex
court ruling marks a triumph not just
for five persons, but all 49. It will be
useful to read the full text of the
ruling by their Lordships, but given the
details reported so far and the
circumstances leading to the dismissal
of the lecturers, what has been upheld
is their right to protest, and their
right to be treated fairly.
The 49 lecturers had refused to return
to work, after they were ordered by the
university authorities to opt out of a
nationwide industrial strike by
university teachers. Most UNILORIN
lecturers rushed to sign the attendance
register, and returned to work, but 49
lecturers stood their ground. Now the
UNILORIN 49 have written their names in
gold in the history of ASUU activism in
Nigeria. Their victory is sweet. The
court has ordered the payment to the
five lecturers in the present case, all
their full benefits, salaries and
arrears since 2001 in addition to a
total damages cost of N300, 000 against
the university.
The big loser in this is the University
of Ilorin as an educational institution.
The dismissal of the 49 lecturers
divided the academic staff in the
university. It resulted in a contest of
egos. And although the case has been and
lost at the Supreme Court, the damage
that has been done to human
relationships, and to team spirit in the
university and the local branch of ASUU
may be irreparable. While the triumphant
five are celebrating and looking forward
to the ruling in the remaining suit
involving the 44 others, those who
conspired against them in the university
must be gnashing their teeth.
Shortly after the judgement became
public knowledge, the local branch of
ASUU at the University of Ilorin issued
a circular to its members which is
shockingly laden with mischief and
contempt. This is in bad taste. The
circular states in part: "We acknowledge
the pronouncement of the court and as a
law abiding organisation, we are passing
the information across to our people and
the general public. They are our
colleagues but it is only their attitude
that has been the problem".
Was this circular written by a
university teacher or a carpenter? Is
ASUU-UNILORIN in a position to issue a
counter-judgment? Their attitude has
been the problem! Expressing an opinion,
making a choice and going to court to
defend that choice, by insting on one's
right to fairness and justice certainly
cannot be a problem. The Supreme Court
of Nigeria does not think so. The
present leadership of ASUU in UNILORIN
must be careful not to be seen to be
resisting the return of former leaders
of the same association. There is too
much politicking in Nigerian
universities these days, with academics
behaving like partisan Nigerian
politicians.
Dr Saad Omo-Iya, current Chairman of
UNILORIN ASUU is further quoted, when
asked whether the local union is ready
to welcome the victorious teachers back,
as saying: "We shall see as things go
but you know a judgement can be
anything. We don't know what will
happen." The Supreme Court judgement is
clear enough: it is declarative and
affirmative, without any ambiguities.
And it should not be difficult to know
what will happen. The five lecturers,
except they choose otherwise, are free
to return to their jobs, and the
university authorities have no option
other than to respect the ruling of the
Supreme Court, the final court in the
land. All the gladiators at the
University of Ilorin should take a cue
from this development and bury the
hatchet. It would have been better if
the university authorities and the local
ASUU Branch were to devote energies to
reports of academic excellence rather
than squabbles and attitudes.
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