Viva Atlantic Limited and Technology House Limited, two Nigerian-based companies, have received a 30-month debarment from the World Bank Group due to fraudulent, collusive, and corrupt practices connected to the National Social Safety Nets Project in Nigeria (NSSNP).

According to a statement by the Washington-based bank, the debarment was issued alongside that of Norman Bwuruk Didam, the companies’ managing director and chief executive officer.

The NSSNP was established to enhance Nigeria’s social safety net systems by providing targeted financial transfers to poor and vulnerable households.

However, investigations revealed breaches of the World Bank’s Anticorruption Framework in the 2018 procurement and subsequent contract processes involving Viva Atlantic Limited, Technology House Limited, and Didam.

“According to the facts of the case and the general principles of the World Bank’s Anticorruption Framework, in connection with a 2018 procurement and subsequent contract, Viva Atlantic Limited, Technology House Limited, and Didam misrepresented a conflict of interest in the companies’ Letter of Bids and received confidential tender information from public officials, which constituted fraudulent and collusive practices, respectively,” the statement said.

A debarment renders firms or individuals ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World Bank Group.

The debarments of Didam, Viva Atlantic Limited, and Technology House Limited qualify for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions signed on April 9, 2010.

According to the World Bank, Viva Atlantic Limited and Didam misrepresented a conflict of interest in their authorization letter of bids and gained improper access to confidential information from public officials, resulting in fraudulent and corrupt practices.

As part of their settlement agreements, the companies and Didam have acknowledged culpability and agreed to meet specified integrity compliance conditions as a requirement for release from debarment.

The settlement agreements feature reduced debarment periods due to the companies’ and Didam’s cooperation with the Bank Group’s investigation, voluntary corrective actions, voluntary restraint from participating in Bank Group tenders, and the passage of time.

“The companies commit to continue to fully cooperate with the Bank Group Integrity Vice Presidency. Among other things, Didam must complete individual corporate ethics training, and the two companies must enhance their internal integrity compliance policies and implement corporate ethics training programs, all of which must reflect the relevant principles set out in the Bank Group Integrity Compliance Guidelines,” the statement said.

Recent data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) has revealed that Nigeria’s electricity exports have reached a value of $112m.

According to the ITC’s website, Nigeria is currently exporting electricity to two neighbouring African nations: the Republic of Benin and Niger.

As of January 18, 2025, Nigeria’s electricity exports to Benin amounted to $66m, with a potential export value of $82m. However, there remains an unrealised export potential of $16m, according to the Punch.

Similarly, electricity exports to Niger were valued at $46m, with the potential for $51m in exports, leaving an unrealised potential of $4.1m.

“The products with greatest export potential from Nigeria to Benin are electrical energy, Urea, and Bars & rods of iron/steel,” the ITC noted.

It also highlighted that the largest absolute difference between potential and actual exports was in electrical energy, with an additional $4.1m in exports still unrealised.

The ITC further indicated that Nigeria’s exports to Niger include electrical energy, Portland cement, and soups, broths and preparations.

While the export data paints a picture of growth in the sector, concerns remain about the state of electricity supply in Nigeria.

According to the Punch, Chief Princewill Okorie, executive director, Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, questioned the country’s priorities.

He said, “Are the electricity companies in those countries they export electricity to serve the consumers the way they serve Nigerian consumers? We cannot be celebrating electricity export when at home in Nigeria we are experiencing blackout and extortion in violation of our consumer protection laws. A good parent first takes care of his home before caring for outsiders.”

He further criticised the export of electricity, questioning whether the money generated was benefiting the Nigerian power sector.

“Is it the wellbeing of Nigerians that is more important or the money generated from export of electricity? If such money is generated, why not inject it into electricity when they are telling us they lack liquidity? What sense does it make for our local industries and economy to be dying because of electricity while export is building other countries’ economies?” Okorie asked.

He added that Nigeria’s economic struggles, including the exodus of professionals and youths, were exacerbated by power shortages, questioning the rationale behind celebrating electricity exports under these conditions.

“It is a shame. Charity begins at home. Let them also explain what the money has been used for when we keep borrowing from the World Bank,” he added.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on US President-elect Donald Trump to identify and recover stolen Nigerian assets hidden in the United States.

Donald Trump

In a statement released on Sunday via X, SERAP urged Trump’s administration to ensure the return of these assets to the Nigerian people.

“We’ve urged US President-elect Trump and his incoming administration to identify US-based stolen assets traced to Nigerian public officials and to ensure the return of any such assets to the Nigerian people,” SERAP stated.

The organization also demanded that Nigerian public officials implicated in the theft of these assets be banned from entering the US.

Meanwhile in the letter, Trump was urged to “attach and release to Nigeria some $500 million worth of US-based proceeds of corruption traced to former Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha.”

SERAP’s request “aligns with the UN Convention Against Corruption, which both the US and Nigeria have ratified.”

The organization emphasized that the US Department of Justice should initiate civil asset forfeiture proceedings to fulfill the US commitment to assisting Nigeria in recovering looted assets.

In the letter, SERAP explained that “these proceeds are separate from the $480 million of Abacha-origin funds that have been forfeited to the US under an August 2014 US federal district court order.”

SERAP urged Trump’s administration to initiate discussions with the Nigerian government to fulfill the objective of returning the stolen assets within an agreed framework and timeline.

The organization also stressed the importance of acknowledging the role of civil society in asset recovery matters.

SERAP noted that the UN Convention Against Corruption requires states to return “corrupt” assets to their countries of origin.

The organization noted it believes that Nigeria has met the requirements for the return of the $500 million in proceeds.

The letter was signed by Professor Alexander W. Sierck, US volunteer counsel, SERAP and Adetokunbo Mumuni, executive director and copied to Stuart Symington, US Ambassador to Nigeria.