The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disclosed that 26 companies have won the bid for the auctioning of forfeited real estate comprising apartments and plots of land in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
In a statement on Thursday, the EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said that during the session, a total of 39 properties in Lot 5, located in different parts of the FCT, were offered for sale through a competitive bidding process.
He noted that the exercise which commenced at 10am continued until 8.30pm on Wednesday.
“At the end of the exercise, a total of 26 bids were successful, while 13 properties were not taken either for non-compliance with the guidelines or the highest bid falling short of the reserve price.
“Or due to a tie as was the case in respect of the property listed as number 33 in the Lot, were re-opened to fresh bids until Monday, 16 January 2023 when the bids will be opened.
“Other properties affected by this fresh bid offer are listed as numbers: 1, 3, 4,5,6,10,15, 18,29,30,31 and 34 in Lot 5,” the statement added.
According to the statement, the EFCC Executive-Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who witnessed the exercise, expressed excitement at the well organized and coordinated event, thanking the bidders for their cooperation.
“The process we are adopting is what is practiced across the world. We had Valuers who valued the properties and we already know the worth of each property and we expect to sell to the highest bidder who exceeds our reserve price because we need to raise money for the Federal Government to execute and complete some of the major infrastructure projects across the country.
“We got feedback from people who are asking why we are not doing it online so that more people can participate. We have tried all of that and it is now left for us to use discretion to work with methods that will help the process to be more transparent for every Nigerian to see,” he said.
One of the bid winners, Chetanna Chukwudo, commended the commission for a job well done, urging it to keep up with the good work as Nigerians expect a lot from her.