ICPC tracks N219.843bn in 176 MDAs

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has tracked a total of N219.843 billion from 176 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

This was disclosed on Monday in Lagos State by the chairman of the commission, Dr Musa Damu Aliyu (SAN) while briefing newsmen on the Constituency Project Tracking Project of the anti-graft agency.

Dr Aliyu noted that the tracking focused on education, agriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure, education, power sectors and that it  spanned 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT)  across all six Geo-political zones in Nigeria 

The ICPC boss stated that a total of 1,721 government-funded projects were tracked within the 6-tracking cycle and that the commission is conducting further investigations on some infractions discovered.

Dr Aliyu listed the tracked projects to include: underperformed projects, shoddily executed projects, abandoned projects, certification of projects as completed when such projects have not been completed and hoarding of projects such as empowerment projects meant to be distributed to intended beneficiaries to empower them or serve to alleviate their poverty were hoarded, while some other items were distributed through proxies.

The ICPC boss said, “It was observed that some agencies were in the habit of handing over empowerment items to stakeholders for onward distribution to the intended beneficiaries.

“This practice encouraged hoarding and politicization of the empowerment-sharing processes.

“To stem the tide of empowerment items being converted to personal use or for personal aggrandisement, and to engender value for money on government funds as well as for impactful socio-economic development of the citizenry, relevant MDAs have been mandated to invite ICPC to monitor the distribution of empowerment items on their budget.” 

Dr Aliyu also stated that ” Other findings are:  Projects in which contractors returned to sites 176 (one hundred and seventy six ),  appropriations for all tracked projects N220 billion,  contracts value of all projects tracked N285 billion, value of projects in which contractors returned to sites N30 billion,  cash recoveries made (so far) N163 million.

 “Recoveries made In assets(so far) N513.3 million, 7), recoveries made (so far)- Cash And Assets in 5 and 6 above N676 million, 8) Cumulative savings to government (+++)N30 billion.”

Commenting on why they opted for a plea bargain, the ICPC Chairman said it saves time, saves money and helps the government to recover stolen or diverted funds.

On the achievements recorded in the Maritime Sector, Dr Aliyu said that the commission in collaboration with other agencies, conducted a corruption risk assessment of key Nigerian seaports and that the assessment identified vulnerabilities.

“These vulnerabilities led to the development of measures to improve transparency and accountability in the sector.” the ICPC boss s

 These measures include Standardized Operating Procedures (SOPs): Consistent d for all government agencies operating at the Port Service Support Portal (PSSP): A web-based platform for addressing business complaints and grievances.

“Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM): A step-by-step guide to port operations promoting compliance and transparency. An enforcement team (Ports Standing Task Team – PSTT) was established to ensure adherence to these measures” he added. 

The chairman further explained that the efforts led to 19 investigations and about 50 arrests made in 2023.

“Legal proceedings initiated, including asset forfeiture led to Improved port efficiency and streamlined operations, especially at Apapa and Tin-Can ports and the dismantling of corruption networks causing traffic congestion,” Dr Aliyu said.