Headline

W’Bank Bans Two Nigerian Companies, CEO Over Alleged Fraud

Published

8 months ago

January 21, 2025

Editor

A statement by the Washington-based bank said the sanction follows findings of fraudulent, collusive and corrupt practices connected to the National Social Safety Nets Project in Nigeria.

The World Bank has imposed a 30-month debarment on two Nigerian companies, Viva Atlantic Limited and Technology House Limited, alongside their Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Norman Didam over alleged corrupt practices.

The 30-month debarment bars Viva Atlantic Limited, Technology House Limited, and Didam from participating in World Bank Group-financed projects and operations.

A statement by the Washington-based bank said the sanction follows findings of fraudulent, collusive and corrupt practices connected to the National Social Safety Nets Project (NSSNP) in Nigeria.

The statement reads: “The World Bank Group today announced the 30-month debarment of two Nigeria-based companies, Viva Atlantic Limited and Technology House Limited, and their Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Norman Bwuruk Didam.

“The debarment is in connection with alleged fraudulent, collusive and corrupt practices as part of the National Social Safety Nets Project in Nigeria.”

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

However, the bank said investigations revealed serious breaches of its Anti-Corruption Framework in the 2018 procurement and subsequent contract processes involving Viva Atlantic Limited, Technology House Limited, and Didam.

According to the World Bank, the companies and Didam misrepresented a conflict of interest in their Letter of Bids and improperly accessed confidential tender information from public officials, constituting fraudulent and collusive practices.

Also, Viva Atlantic Limited and Didam were said to have falsified the company’s experience records and submitted forged manufacturer’s authorisation letters. They also provided inducements to public officials involved in the project, which qualified as corrupt practices.

The bank said these violations directly contravened the principles outlined in the World Bank’s Anticorruption Framework, prompting the sanctions.

The statement reads: “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 Mr 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.

“Further, Viva Atlantic Limited and Mr Didam misrepresented Viva Atlantic Limited’s experience and submitted falsified manufacturer’s authorisation letters, as well as offered and provided things of value to project public officials. These actions were fraudulent and corrupt practices, respectively.”

As part of settlement agreements with the World Bank, the statement said all three parties acknowledged their culpability and agreed to stringent integrity compliance conditions as a prerequisite for being released from debarment.

Headline

Peru Anti-government Protesters Clash With Police

Published

17 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Hundreds of anti-government protesters clashed with police in the Peruvian capital Lima on Saturday, throwing stones and sticks as officers fired tear gas on the demonstrators, AFP journalists reported.

The protest, organized by a youth collective called “Generation Z”, is part of growing social unrest in Peru against organized crime, corruption in public office, and a recent pension reform.

“Today, there is less democracy than before. It’s getting worse… because of fear, because of extortion,” said 54-year-old protester Gladys, who declined to give her last name.

Around 500 people gathered in the city center, under heavy police presence.

“Congress has no credibility, it doesn’t even have the approval of the people… It is wreaking havoc in this country,” said protester Celene Amasifuen.

The clashes broke out as demonstrators tried to approach executive and congressional buildings in Lima.

The radio station Exitosa said that its reporter and a cameraman were hit by pellets, commonly fired by law enforcement.

Police said at least three officers were wounded.

Approval ratings for President Dina Boluarte, whose term ends next year, have plummeted amid rising extortion and organized crime cases.

Several opinion polls show the government and conservative-majority Congress are seen by many as corrupt institutions.

This week, the legislature passed a law requiring young adults to join a private pension fund, despite many facing a precarious working environment.

AFP

Headline

Fresh World Trouble Looms As Netanyahu Tells Western Leaders ‘There Will Be No Palestinian State’

Published

17 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said there would be no Palestinian state, in a message addressed to the leaders of Britain, Australia and Canada after they recognised Palestinian statehood.

“I have a clear message for those leaders who recognise a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7: you are granting a huge reward to terror,” he said.

“And I have another message for you: it will not happen. No Palestinian state will be established west of the Jordan River.”

Britain, Australia and Canada on Sunday became the first tripartite Western nations to recognise a Palestinian state.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a message on X.

“Canada recognises the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X.

This comes after decades of requests for sovereignty from the Palestinian side.

Portugal was also to recognise Palestinian statehood later Sunday, as Israel came under huge international pressure over the war in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Headline

Badenoch Slams UK’s Palestine Recognition Decision As ‘Absolutely Disastrous’

Published

18 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine.

PUNCH Online reports that Britain, alongside Australia and Canada, on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

However, the decision triggered swift Israeli anger and condemnation from the opposition.

Reacting in a statement on her X on Sunday, Badenoch described the move as “absolutely disastrous.”

She argued the move rewards terrorism with no conditions, and the decision would be widely regretted.

She said, “Absolutely disastrous. We will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.

“It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.”

The Winchester opposition leader accused Labour of pandering to its “hard left” rather than fixing Britain’s pressing domestic problems.

“It is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.”

Listing examples of Labour’s failings, she said, “They cannot fix the NHS, so they push assisted suicide. – They cannot create jobs for young people, so they give them votes at 16.

“They cannot sort out immigration, but they will recognise Palestine instead. And so on. This is the same man who paid £35bn of reparations to Mauritius along with the surrender of the Chagos islands.”

Badenoch also criticised what she described as the prime minister’s lack of judgment.

“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgment.

“He will spend the next four years delivering the hobbyhorses of the Labour left to stay in power and leave a HUGE mess for us to clean up.”

Earlier, Starmer announced the recognition of Palestine in a post on X, saying the move was intended to provide a two-state solution.

He said, “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine.”