Amaechi’s decision to award an ICTN contract to a medical company is embarrassing: BPP

The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has condemned moves by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to award the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) contract to MedTech Scientific Limited, a healthcare firm, in partnership with Rozi International Nigeria Limited, a property development firm.

The contract was awarded in clear violation of the Public Procurement Act 2007, according to the procurement agency, which described the process as humiliating and illegal.

It was learned that the minister relied on President Muhammadu Buhari’s anticipatory approval to award the contract, citing national security and economic benefits. The International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) scheme is an electronic cargo verification system that tracks the shipment of seaborne cargo and generates vital data on ship and cargo traffic in and out of Nigeria in real-time.

The scheme was initially muted during President Umaru Yar-administration, Adua’s but former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala abruptly terminated the contract between the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and an operator, TPMS-Antaser-Afrique, in October 2011.

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Nigeria will continue to lose revenue, worsen the country’s maritime security situation, and allow cargo alteration and under-declaration if the contract is not awarded, according to a memo from the Ministry of Transportation to the Bureau of Public Procurement dated August 26, 2021.

However, according to a document seen by……on September 11, 2020, the minister of transportation requested BPP approval to conduct a restricted/selected tendering exercise to engage agents or partners for the implementation of the cargo tracking note scheme.

The BPP, it was learned, turned down the selective tender request in order to regain international trust, and instead requested that the Transport Ministry conduct international competitive bidding (ICB).

“This (ICB) was to ensure that experienced international firms with high reputation, integrity, and capacity to deliver participate in the procurement process,” the BPP stated in a memo dated October 22, 2020.

In a separate memo, the BPP noted that the transport ministry reverted to it on August 26, 2021, with approval from the president dated August 19, 2021, to adopt a direct procurement in favor of MedTech Scientific Limited, in partnership with Rozi International Nigeria Limited, a property development company. Direct procurement is the sole sourcing of a contractor with no room for competition, either through a selective exercise that invites interest from a small number of companies based on experience and capacity, or through an open exercise that invites companies to express interest and compete.