NCC Cancels EOI Notice To Tier III Data Centres For Local Hosting Of Its Website And Online Applications
By Cyber Era Staff
Telecommunications sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has cancelled an earlier notice given to Tier III Data Centre Operators to bid to locally host the Commission’s website(www.ncc.gov.ng) and online applications, because, in the estimation of the Commission, it is no longer possible to continue the National Competitive Bidding procurement for the project, due to the coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic.
A statement for cancellation of the EOI for the project was issued by the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, September 8, 2020 and became effective same day.
It will be recalled that the Commission had published a bid solicitation advertisement in the Leadership and the Nation Newspapers of Monday, March 9, 2020 and the Federal Tenders Journal of Monday, March 9 to Sunday, March 22, 2020 edition, inviting submissions of Expression of Interest for the Tier III Data Centre for Local Hosting of NCC Website and Online Applications.
Eligible interested owners of Tier III Data Centre Facilities were then required, among others, to submit their EOI documents no later than 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday 25th March 2020, at the specified location in the Commission’s Head Office, Abuja, to be followed by public bid opening.
The deadline for bid submission and opening were suspended via advertisements placed in The Nation and Leadership Newspapers on March 25, 2020, due to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s measures to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prof Danbatta stated: “It is however, no longer possible to continue the National Competitive Bidding procurement procedure for this project, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant restrictions.
For the avoidance of doubt, the EOI submissions and planned public opening in respect of this project are hereby cancelled.”
From the grapevine, however, this EOI cancellation does not, in any way, nail the coffin to the project, but became necessary for the current national lockdown to be completely eased off to enable the Commission issue a fresh invite.
