The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has barred a Nigerian firm, Maxicare Company (Nigeria) Limited, from engaging in business transactions with it for a period of 3 years with effect from February 23, 2021.
The bank said that the debarment of Maxicare was due to its engagement in collusive and fraudulent practices during a tender for a project.
This disclosure is contained in a public statement that was issued by the AfDB Group on April 28, 2021, and seen on its website. It states that the debarment is based on an investigation conducted by the bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption.
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AfDB stated that the debarment meant that Maxicare Company (Nigeria) Limited and its affiliated companies would be ineligible to take part in the bank’s group-financed projects during the period, in addition to qualifying for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions.
According to the statement from the AfDB Group, “An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Maxicare Company (Nigeria) Limited engaged in collusive and fraudulent practices during a tender for the construction of weigh stations and supply of equipment under the Transport Facilitation Program for the Bamenda-Mamfe-Abakaliki-Enugu Road Corridor connecting Cameroon and Nigeria.
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The debarment renders Maxicare Company (Nigeria) Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in Bank Group-financed projects during the debarment period. Additionally, 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.”
The bank also said that at the expiry of the debarment period, Maxicare Company (Nigeria) Limited would only be eligible to participate in Bank Group-financed projects on the condition that it implemented an integrity compliance program consistent with the bank’s guidelines.
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What you should know
The Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption of the African Development Bank Group is responsible for preventing, deterring and investigating allegations of corruption, fraud and other sanctionable practices in the bank’s group-financed operations.
The Transport Facilitation Program for the Bamenda-Mamfe-Abakaliki-Enugu Road Corridor is aimed at increasing trade and strengthening cooperation generally among the countries of the Economic Community of Central African States and those of the Economic Community of West African States, and between Cameroon and Nigeria in particular. It was co-financed by the African Development Fund, an entity of the African Development Bank Group.