Auction: Association wants NRC to conduct open bidding

The National President of Nigeria Association of Auctioneers, Alhaji Aliyu Kiliya, has urged Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Ahmed Alkali, to call on the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) to conduct an open competitive bidding in auctioning its properties.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Sunday, Kiliya pointed out that, by open competitive bidding, it will encourage more transparency, accountability and due process.

Alhaji Kiliya stated that the bidding process must be in compliance with the laws of Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and all the auctioneers to be appointed must have past experience and belong to the association.

He said the Department of State Security Service (DSS) should be allowed to verify all items to be sold and what is to be given “to avoid what happened in the past, especially in former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, where illegal practices accured and scraps where stolen, which led to the arrest of many people.”

While commending the Nigerian Navy, Army, EFCC and other agencies for always holding transparent auctions, Kiliya appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure all public organisations emulate the aforementioned agencies in order to contribute more money to government coffers and help in executing many projects in the country.

Alhaji Kiliya urged the BPP to make sure all agencies comply with its earlier directives to agencies on how to auction properties.

The president appreciated the Nigerian Army, Navy, the Economic and Financial Crímes Commission (EFCC), National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and others that comply with BPP.

It urged the DSS to beam its torchlight on state governments to curb alleged wrong practices going on there.

Alhaji Kiliya cautioned organisations against giving allocations to companies to auction properties, stressing it was economic sabotage and urged DSS to monitor and get them investigated.

The president also condemned the way Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC) appointed only one person to auction its properties nationwide, despite inviting different companies to its bidding.

He said: “I think the online method is not a bad idea. Let’s make properties that are good for online auctioning to be done in that way and open competitive bidding should go the way too. This process will make the public to know what is being sold and taken and it will make the process smooth too.

“I must urge the Ministry of Transportion to send profiles of companies intending to apply to Bureau of Public Procurement for scrutiny before appointing them to auction properties. If these properties and scraps are sold fast, it will be appreciated in the market value and some miscreants will not steal them.

“I am sure if the auction sector is taken seriously by the current administration, it will reduce the external borrowing of money by the federal government. This is because the government can raise money through auctioning of overdue properties.”