Local meter manufacturers in Nigeria have taken legal action to stop the procurement process by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) over the $500 million Distribution Section Recovery Loan, alleging a violation of the procurement process.
The Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) has requested that the minister encourage local manufacturing to reduce importation and build sustainable local manufacturing capacity to create employment.
This is as the Federal High Court sitting in Kano will commence hearing on the matter between AMMON and TCN, NERC, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Federal Ministry of Power and Bureau of Public Procurement on October 18, 2023
AMMON said despite an interim injunction granted by the presiding judge, TCN opened the bid on October 5, 2023.
However, the Federal Ministry of Power had said the court case was withdrawn following the intervention of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu at a stakeholder meeting held at ministry prior to opening the bid on October 5.
The loan from the World Bank for the National Mass Metering Project (NMMP) has been secured by TCN, but the association has protested that the procurement process for the project has been prejudicial to local manufacturers.
The association has an installed capacity of about five million meters and can supply and install the 1,250,000 meters within six months if given the chance.
TCN had sought and secured $155m loan from the World Bank for the National Mass Metering Project (NMMP).
TCN however, advertised for bids for the phase 2 of the project for only foreign companies without protecting the interest of Local Manufacturers.
In a letter of protest and reminder to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy Chief Olawale Edun, the Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON), the group reminded the Minister that even as there is a subsisting court order to the bid opening slated for Thursday October 13, 2023 the TCN insists on violating the procurement process.
In the letter signed by Engineer Ademola Agoro, the Acting President and the secretary, Engineer Duro Omogbenigun, AMMON referred to “their correspondences to the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the 17th of April 2023, and letter to the Permanent Secretary Finance (dated 7th June 2023, presented their grave concerns on the systemic violation of the procurement act insensitivity and misalignment with local content directives as contained in Executive Orders 2 and 5”.
