Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF)- Invitation To Tender/Pre-qualification/Expression Of Interest For Projects Execution (12 Lots)

DEADLINE: 16TH AUGUST, 2022
UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROVISION FUND (USPF)
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL ECONOMY
NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION HEAD OFFICE, 9TH FLOOR, PLOT 423, AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA DISTRICT, ABUJA, FCT.
www.uspf.gov.ng
INVITATION TO TENDER/PREQUALIFICATION/EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

(1) INTRODUCTION
The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to facilitate the achievement of national policy goals for universal access and universal service to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in rural, un-served and under-served areas in Nigeria.

To achieve the above statutory mandate and in compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the Universal Service Provision Fund under its 2022 budget hereby invites qualified, competent and reputable contractors, consultants and service providers to submit documents for the following project and services:

CATEGORY A: (EXPRESSION OF INTEREST)

CATEGORY B: (INVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION)

CATEGORY C: (INVITATION TO TENDER)

(2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
All submissions must comply with the requirements of Public Procurement Act, 2007 and interested bidders must submit the following documents:

(a) Evidence of Certificate of Incorporation issued by Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) including forms CAC 1.1 or CAC 2 & CAC 7. Business Name is also acceptable for EA

(b) CTC of Articles and Memorandum of Association of the Company. It must show that the company has ICT related activities as part of its objectives (Not a requirement for EA);

(c) Evidence of filing annual returns for the preceding three (3) years (2019, 2020, and 2021) by inclusion of an acknowledgment letter from CAC;

(d) Evidence of Company’s Income Tax Clearance Certificate for the preceding three (3) years (2019, 2020, and 2021) valid till 31st of December 2022 (with an minimum average annual turnover in the last three years of N428 million for BTS, N116 million for RBTS and N108 million for BA(N));

(e) FIRS acknowledged Company’s audited accounts for the last three (3) years (2019, 2020, and 2021);

(f) Evidence of current Pension Clearance Certificate valid till 31st December, 2022 (applicable where number of staff is at least 15);

(g) Evidence of current Industrial Training Fund (ITF) compliance certificate valid till 31st December, 2022 (applicable where number of staff is at least 5 or the bidder’s annual turnover is at least 50m);

(h) Evidence of current Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Clearance Certificate valid till 31^st December, 2022;

(i) Evidence of registration on the National Database of Federal Contractors, Consultants and Service Providers by submission of an Interim Registration Report (IRR) expiring by 31^st December, 2022 or valid certificate issued by BPP;

(j) Sworn Affidavit:

• disclosing whether or not any officer of the relevant committees of the Universal Service Provision Fund or the Bureau of Public Procurement is a former or present Director, shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bidder and has to confirm that all information presented in its bid are true and correct in all particulars;
• the Company is not in receivership, insolvent or bankrupt;
• none of the Directors of the Company has been convicted in any Court for any criminal offence including fraud and financial impropriety;

(k) Reference Letter from a reputable Commercial bank in Nigeria, indicating willingness to provide credit facility for the execution of the project when needed;

(l) Proof of at least three (3) similar projects carried out in the past five (5) years including Letters of Award, Job Completion Certificates and photographs of the projects;

(m) Proponents must be an Internet Service Provision (ISP) License holder (for BA (N) only);

(n) Proponents must be a licensed network operating company or a company with a signed MoU with a Mobile Network Operator (MNO). The MNO must have a GSM Spectrum License (for BTS and RBTS only);

(o) A valid Infrastructure Sharing & Collocation Services License to carry out the project (for BTS and RBTS only);

(p) Evidence of Firm’s current registration with Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (for EA only)

(q) Company’s Profile with Curriculum Vitae of Key Staff to be deployed for the project, including  copies of their Academic/Professional qualifications;

(r) Evidence of Firm’s current registration with relevant professional bodies (NITDA & CPN) (Category B&C);

(s) For Joint Venture/Partnership, the following documents must be provided for each JV partner: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Certificate of Incorporation, Tax Clearance Certificate, Pension Clearance Certificate, ITF Compliance Certificate, NSITF Clearance Certificate, IRR & Sworn Affidavit. NOTE: NOT MORE THAN TWO COMPANIES SHOULD FORM A JOINT VENTURE;

(t) All documents for submission must be transmitted with a Covering/Forwarding letter under the Company/Firm’s Letterhead Paper bearing amongst others, the Registration Number (RC) as issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Contact Address, Telephone Number (preferably GSM No.), and e-mail address. The letterhead Paper must bear the names and Nationalities of the Directors of the Company at the bottom of the page, duly signed by authorised officer of the firm.

(3) COLLECTION OF BID DOCUMENT
Category C: Tender Documents are obtainable from the Procurement Department of USPF upon payment of a non-refundable tendering fee of Ten Thousand Naira (N 10,000.00) only per Lot. The above sum must be payable to Universal Service Provision Fund through the CBN payment gateway (REMITA) platform. Evidence of payment MUST be submitted to the Funding and Subsidy Department, USPF for issuance of receipt, which must be presented to the procurement department for the bid document.

Category A & B: Only substantially responsive firms will be contacted at a later date for issuance of Request for Proposal (RFP) and Tender Documents for pre-qualification.

(4) SUBMISSION OF BIDS
(a) Bids must be in English Language and signed by an official authorised by the bidder;

(b) Interested Firms are to submit two (2) bound documents separately in a sealed envelope;

(c) All Documents should be addressed to:

The Secretary
Universal Service Provision Fund
Nigerian Communications Commission Head Office
9th Floor, 423, Aguiyi Ironsi Street
Maitama District, Abuja

(d) Each Package shall be clearly marked with the following information on both sides of the envelope:

• Technical Bid marked USPF/LOTX/TECHNICAL/ 2022 at the top right hand corner for Category B&C;
• Expression of Interest marked USPF/LOTX/EOI/2022 at the top right hand corner for Category A;
• Bid Bond USPF/STD/LOTX/BB/2022;

Please note that X denotes the Lot Name

• Name of Proponent on each of the enclosed document;
• Contact Name, Phone Number and E-Mail Address;

(e) All copies of the documents shall be duly signed by an authorised representative of the Bidder. In the event of any discrepancy between copies, the original shall govern;

(f) Interested Parties shall not bid for more than two (2) Lots of all 2022 USPF Goods, Works and Services;

(g) USPF will assume no responsibility for the content of tamper evident bids or for non-compliance with this instruction. Bids that do not comply with this section shall be rejected;

(h) Proponents can submit through Post (Courier Services);

(I) All documents must reach the office of the undersigned on or before 10:00 am on 16 August, 2022 for Category A (Expression of Interest) and Category B (Invitation for Pre-Qualification) while for Category C (Invitation to Tender) must reach the office of the undersigned on or before 10:00 am on 23 August, 2022;

(KINDLY NOTE THAT BIDS WILL BE OPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION AT 10:00 AM ON 16 AUGUST, 2022 FOR CATEGORY A & B AND 10:00 AM ON 23 AUGUST, 2022 FOR CATEGORY C RESPECTIVELY).

(j) Kindly note that submissions may be subjected to verification from relevant authorities. Fake documents and false declaration may be forwarded to the relevant authorities.

Failure to comply with the tendering instructions shall lead to disqualification.

(5) DISCLAIMER
(a) Submissions after the date and time specified above shall be returned un-opened;

(b) All cost incurred by proponents in response to this advert or enquiries shall be borne by such bidders and not the USPF;

(c) Attendees at the bid openings shall be required to wash hands, use hand sanitiser, wear mask and observe physical distancing. The Bids will be opened in the presence of CSOs and Professional bodies and covered by video recording; invitation link will be sent to bidders who chooses to join the bid opening online

(d) The USPF is not bound to pre-qualify/shortlist any bidder and reserves the right to annul the Procurement process at any time without incurring any liabilities in accordance with Section 28 of the Public Procurement Act, 2007;

(e) This advertisement is published for information purposes, and should not be construed as a commitment or obligation on the part of the USPF to award contract;

(f) Interested parties shall not bid for both the Technical Audit and Implementation of any one project.

For further clarification on the advertisement, please email: uspfprocurement@ncc.gov.ng  uspfbids@ncc.gov.ng  uspfprocurement@uspf.gov.ng  uspfbids@uspf.gov.ng

SIGNED:
MANAGEMENT
UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROVISION FUND