The Federal Government has approved new guidelines for the debarment of contractors, consultants, and service providers, outlining six grounds that could lead to their exclusion from Federal Government procurement for between three and five years.
The grounds include offering bribes or other benefits to influence procurement decisions, conviction for fraud, wilful failure to perform contractual obligations, a history of unsatisfactory performance, falsification of documents, and debarment by a multilateral organization.
The directive was contained in a circular titled “Implementation of the National Guideline on Debarment of Contractors,” signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.
The circular was addressed to the Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Principal Secretary to the President, ministers and ministers of state, National Security Adviser, Economic Adviser to the President, special advisers, and senior special assistants.
Others addressed included service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; chairmen of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Police Service Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Federal Character Commission, Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Independent National Electoral Commission.
The circular was also sent to the chairmen of the National Population Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency; all permanent secretaries and heads of extra-ministerial departments; the Clerk of the National Assembly; the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court; the Accountant-General of the Federation; the Auditor-General for the Federation; and the directors-general and chief executives of parastatals, agencies, and government-owned companies.
Akume said the guideline was introduced “in order to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in public procurement and to ensure value for money in public expenditure and to protect government from bad and non-performing contractors.”
The circular stated that the guideline establishes “the grounds and procedures for excluding contractors, suppliers and service providers from participating in Federal Government procurement” where they are found to have violated the Public Procurement Act, 2007, or engaged in wrongdoing relating to contract delivery.
Under the guideline, a contractor, consultant, or service provider may face debarment where there is evidence that the firm or individual gave or promised money, gifts, or any tangible item to a current or former employee of a procuring entity or the Bureau of Public Procurement in an attempt to influence a procurement action or decision.
The government also listed offering or giving employment or another benefit that can be quantified in monetary terms to a current or former employee of a procuring entity or the BPP as a ground where it is intended to influence a procurement activity.
Another ground is conviction for fraud or any other offence connected with obtaining, attempting to obtain or performing a public contract or subcontract.
The guideline further targets contractors that breach government contracts through “willful failure to perform in accordance with the terms of a contract” or those with “a history of failure to perform or of unsatisfactory performance of a contract.”
Falsification of documents is also expressly listed as a ground for debarment. In addition, the government said a contractor already debarred by a multilateral organization “may be considered for debarment by the government.”
Once a contractor is debarred, ministries, departments, and agencies are prohibited from soliciting offers from the contractor, awarding contracts to it, or consenting to subcontracts involving the contractor. The circular also provides that a debarred contractor “shall not conduct business with the government as an agent or representative of any other contractor, consultant, or service provider.”
