FG Introduces Five-Year Blacklist for Defaulting Contractors

Ranti Thomas 2 hours ago 2 min read

The Federal Government has approved new guidelines allowing contractors, consultants and service providers found guilty of procurement violations to be barred from participating in federal contracts for between three and five years.

The directive is 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.

Under the new framework, contractors could face sanctions for offering bribes or other benefits to influence procurement decisions, being convicted of fraud, deliberately failing to fulfil contractual obligations, consistently delivering unsatisfactory work or falsifying documents.

Companies or individuals already debarred by multilateral organisations may also be considered for exclusion from Federal Government procurement.

The government said the measure was introduced to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability in public procurement, ensure value for money and protect public funds from bad or non-performing contractors.

Once a contractor is debarred, Ministries, Departments and Agencies will be prohibited from requesting bids from the affected company, awarding new contracts to it or approving subcontracts involving the sanctioned contractor.

Debarred contractors will also be prevented from conducting business with the Federal Government by acting as agents or representatives of other contractors, consultants or service providers. The sanction may also extend to partners involved in joint venture agreements.

However, existing contracts may be allowed to continue in certain circumstances where a government agency determines that there are sufficient reasons for doing so.

The Bureau of Public Procurement will be responsible for investigating cases and ensuring that affected contractors are notified before a final decision is taken. Procuring entities may also recommend contractors for debarment where their findings are supported by evidence and approved by the appropriate accounting officer.

The guidelines provide timelines for handling cases. The BPP is expected to acknowledge a debarment request within seven working days, while the Secretary of the Debarment Committee will review the information within 10 working days.

The committee is expected to consider a contractor’s response and reach a decision based on the merits of the case. Where debarment is approved, the contractor will receive a final notice stating the reasons, duration and implications of the sanction.

Names of sanctioned contractors will subsequently be entered into the BPP database and published through official procurement platforms, including the Federal Tenders Journal.

The new guidelines operate under Nigeria’s Public Procurement Act 2007 and take immediate effect, with government institutions directed to ensure strict compliance with the new debarment procedure.