The World Bank has debarred five Nigerian firms and
individuals for engaging in corrupt practices.
In addition, two Nigerian companies debarred by the African
Development Bank (AfDB) were recognised by the World Bank under the
cross-debarment policy, raising the number of debarments to seven.
A debarment renders firms/individuals ineligible to
participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World
Bank Group.
This is contained in the World Bank’s recent report titled
‘Sanctions System Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2022’.
The annual report covers the fiscal year 2022—from July 1,
2021, to June 30, 2022—and was prepared by the offices of the World Bank
Group’s (WBG) sanctions system, which comprises the integrity vice-presidency
(INT), the office of suspension and debarment (OSD), and the sanctions board
and its secretariat.
According to the report, Salihu Tijani was debarred for
three years and two months while Isah Kantigi was debarred for five years.
Amin Moussalli was debarred for two years and 10 months
alongside a conditional non-debarment for one year and six months.
Conditional non-debarment means that a firm or individual
remains eligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects as long as the
firm/individual complies with certain sanction conditions.
The bank also debarred two firms – AIM Consultants Limited
for two years and 10 months, and SoftTech IT Solutions and Services Ltd. for
four years and two months.
The other two firms blacklisted by AfDB but recognised by
the World Bank were Sargittarius Nigeria Limited, and Sargittarius Henan Water
Conservancy Engineering Ltd. for a period of two years and six months each.
The bank said the report documents how, in a time of
increasingly complex global challenges and historic development support by the
World Bank Group, the offices of the sanctions system worked in the fiscal year
2022 (FY22) to help ensure that the WBG’s funds are used in a transparent and
accountable manner and only for their intended purposes.
Speaking on the sanctions, David Malpass, World Bank Group
president, said corruption has a “pernicious effect” on development and poses
significant obstacles to the bank’s work to alleviate extreme poverty and boost
shared prosperity.
“Among them, it diverts scarce resources from achieving the
projects’ objectives, robbing the benefits of development from the people who
need them most; it increases costs for the most vulnerable while reducing their
access to services—including health, education, and justice; and it undermines
the public’s trust in institutions, thereby weakening governance and rule of
law and increasing fragility,” Malpass explained.
“At a moment when every available resource must be deployed
for maximum impact, these ill effects of corruption can be especially damaging.
“For this reason, it is important to recognise the role of
the Bank Group’s sanction system, which plays a significant part in our
institution’s efforts to maintain oversight and accountability for the
financing we provide.”
Meanwhile, according to the report, the World Bank debarred
or penalised 35 firms and individuals during the period in review (July 2021 –
June 2022).
It also determined that 22 entities had met their conditions for release from sanction, making them eligible to again participate in projects financed by the bank.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com