Invitation to Tender at the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF)

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 underserved areas in Nigeria.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Invitation to Tender

Preamble
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 and service providers to bid for the following Goods and Works.

Scope of Work

Lot No	Project Description	Location
	Goods
GD 1	Supply of Computers and Accessories	HQ, Abuja
	Works
EAC-1	Installation of ICT & Assistive Tech. to Institutions and Schools Catering for Challenged Groups	North
EAC-2	Installation of ICT & Assistive Tech. to Institutions and Schools Catering for Challenged Groups	South

Eligibility Requirements
All tenderers must comply with the requirements of Public Procurement Act, 2007 and interested bidders must submit the following documents:

• Evidence of Certificate of Incorporation issued by Corporate Affairs Commission including form CAC 1.1 or CAC2 and CAC7;
• 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;
• Evidence of filing annual returns for the preceding three years (2019, 2020, and 2021) by inclusion of an acknowledgment letter from CAC;
• Evidence of Company Income's Tax Clearance Certificate for the preceding three (3) years (2019, 2020, and 2021) valid till 31" of December 2022 (with an average minimum annual turnover in the last three (3) years of N186 million for EAC);
• Evidence of current Pension Clearance Certificate valid till 31" December, 2022 (applicable where number of staff is at least 15);
• Evidence of current Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Compliance Certificate valid till 31" December, 2022 (applicable where number of staff is at least 5 or the bidder's annual turnover is at least N50m);
• Evidence of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Clearance Certificate valid till 31" December, 2022;
• 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" December, 2022 or valid certificate issued by BPP;
• 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;
• Reference Letter from a reputable commercial bank in Nigeria, indicating willingness to provide credit facility for the execution of the project when needed;
• Verifiable documentary evidence 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;
• Company's Profile with Curriculum Vitae of Key Staff to be deployed for the project, including copies of their Academic/Professional qualifications;
• Company's audited accounts for the last three (3) years - 2019, 2020, & 2021 duly acknowledged by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS);
• Evidence of current registration/accreditation with Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA);
• For Joint Venture/Partnership, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) should be provided (CAC, Tax Clearance Certificate, Pension Clearance Certificate, ITF Compliance Certificate, TF Clearance Certificate, IRR & Sworn Affidavit are compulsory for each JV partner). Note: Not more than two companies should form a joint venture.
• All documents for submission must be transmitted with a Covering/Forwarding the Company/Firm's Letter Head 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 authorized officer of the firm.

Special Instruction:

• Prospective bidders must procure hardware devices such as laptops only from National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Certified Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Application Closing Date
10:00am, 23rd May, 2022.

Opening of Technical Bids
All documents must reach the office of the undersigned on or before 10:00 am on 23 May, 2022 (kindly note that technical bids will be opened immediately after the deadline for submission at 10:00 am on 23 may, 2022); Please ensure that you sign the Bid Submission Register in the office of the undersigned as the Universal Service Provision Fund will not be held liable for misplaced or wrongly submitted bids. Failure to comply with the tendering instructions shall lead to disqualification

Collection of Tender Documents
Tender Documents are obtainable from the Procurement Department of USPF upon payment of a non-refundable tendering fee of Ten Thousand Naira (N10,000.00) 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.

Submission of Bids
Bids must be in English Language and signed by an official authorized by the bidder. Prospective bidders are to submit bids for each of the Lots desired, two (2) hard copies each of the Technical and Financial Bids with soft copy of Financial Bid only in MS Excel format, packaged separately in sealed envelopes and clearly marked as "Technical Bid" or "Financial Bid".

Thereafter put the sealed envelopes together in a bigger sealed envelope addressed to:
The Secretary,
Universal Service Provision Fund,
Nigerian Communications Commission Head Office,
9h Floor, Plot 423 Aguiyi Ironsi Street,
Maitama - (FCT) Abuja.

Note

• Combining technical and financial bids in the same envelope will lead to automatic disqualification.
• Each Bid Package shall be clearly marked with the following information on both sides of the envelope:
• Technical Bid marked 'USPF/STD/LOTX/TECHNICAL/2022 at the top right hand corner;
• Financial Bid 'USPF/STD/LOTX/FINANCIAL/2022 at the top right hand corner
• 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;
• An authorised representative of the Proponent shall duly sign all copies of the bids. In the event of any discrepancy between copies, the original shall govern
• Interested Parties shall not bid for more than two (2) Lots of all 2022 USPF Goods, Works and Services;
• 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 the requirements shall be disqualified;
• Kindly note that submissions may be subjected to verification from relevant authorities. Fake documents and false declaration may be forwarded to the relevant prosecution authorities;

Disclaimer

• Submissions after the date and time specified above shall be returned un-opened;
• All cost incurred by bidders in response to this advert or enquiries shall be borne by such bidders and not the USPF;
• Presence of bidders/representatives and members of the public shall not be required during the bid opening ceremony in compliance with COVID-19 Guidelines. The Bids Opening will be covered by video recording invitation link will be sent to bidders to join the bid opening online) with the physical presence of two (2) representatives of private sector professional bodies and Civil Society Organisation in the areas of Anti-Corruption/Transparency:
• Bid documents can also be collected in soft copies and Bidders can submit through Post (Courier Services);
• Only pre-qualified bidders at technical evaluation will be invited at a later date for virtual financial bids opening, while the financial bids of un-successful bidders will be returned un opened
• The USPF is not bound to pre-qualify 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;
• 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.
• 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