June 26, 2019/AfDB

The African Development Bank Group has blacklisted Abuja-based construction firm Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria for a minimum period of 48 months for fraudulent contract bidding, the Bank announced on Wednesday.

An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that the company misrepresented its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts, and the experience of its key personnel while bidding for two works contracts under the Bank-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.

The Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project aims at enhancing access to safe water supply services in the Nigerian states of Oyo and Taraba through, among other components, extension and rehabilitation works on the water transmission and distribution network.

The debarment, pronounced by the independent Sanctions Commissioner of the Bank, renders Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria ineligible to participate in Bank-financed projects during the debarment period. The debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.

At the expiry of the debarment period, Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria shall be eligible again to participate in Bank-financed projects only conditional on the implementation of an integrity compliance program consistent with its guidelines.