Nigeria Allocates Forfeited Assets To 118 Successful Bidders

On Friday, Umar Mohammed, Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Disposal of Forfeited Assets, revealed that the assets had been assigned to 118 winning bidders.

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, established an Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Disposal of Forfeited Assets in November 2020.

During a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Mohammed said the committee had rejected six offers received after the deadline, and that assets such as jewels were not available because they were still being litigated.

He said, “The qualified valuers are as follows: Lot 1 – 64, Lot 2 – 46, Lot 3 – 7, and Lot 4 – 1. Six bids were rejected as they were submitted after the deadline for bids submission.

“This press conference has been called to inform members of the press and the public at large of the successful bidders for Lots 1-4 valuers. However, the public is invited to note that only clothing materials are available at the moment due to the fact that jewelries are subject of litigation.”

Mohammed who stated that the committee ensured transparency in the bidding and selection exercise, encouraged bidders to be transparent in the sale of the forfeited assets.

He, therefore, assured that the committee will work with the bidders to ensure successful completion of the task.

Mohammed said, “The method of selection is quality-based selection method (QBS), while the consultancy fee will be based on agreed percentage from the proceeds of the disposed of assets.

“The second reason we invited you is for you to observe the open balloting process to allocate lots/assets to the successful bidders. There is no ‘order from above’ in this particular exercise as we have planned it to be open and transparent in line with international best practice and anti-corruption drive of this administration.”