Recovered Funds From MDAs, Contractors Used For infrastructure – ICPC

Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu has stated that recovered funds from MDAs and contractors are being used for infrastructure development by the government.

Aliyu who spoke at a media briefing and workshop training by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Lagos said the commission in its quest to tackle corruption has recovered the sum of N513,317,404.04 in assets and N675,570,333.93 recoveries made in cash and assets of public funds from MDAs and contractors.

He remarked that the percentages of projects completed and those executed to specifications are increasing with the percentage of abandoned projects reducing.

He said, “Investigating some MDAs and the commission is not going public until the prosecution in the court of law, as the agency does not engage in media trials of individuals.”

Aliyu emphasised that the commission is actively pursuing technological solutions to enhance transparency and accountability.

The chairman stated that the commission met with the Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy with a view to leveraging digital public infrastructure for anti-corruption efforts.

He stressed that this effort has led to the initiation, renewal and establishment of numerous mutually beneficial partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders such as Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

“This strategic collaboration aims to not only utilize technology to combat corruption but also to strengthen the ICPC’s overall capacity.

“This effort has led to the initiation, renewal, and establishment of numerous mutually beneficial partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders such as Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU),” he said.

He, however, highlighted the issues around project delivery to include, abuse of office and conflict of interest, misappropriation and criminal conversion of public projects, shoddy completion, non-completion or outright non-execution, under-performance of contract amongst others.

He asserted that as part of the commission’s effort in its quest to tackle corruption, “A total of 1721 projects were tracked within the focal sectors of Education, Water Resources, Agriculture, Power and Health, Energy and Roads.  These projects were awarded to a total of 1,355 contractors in 176 MDAs.”

Aliyu added that, “The commission’s anti-corruption strategy goes beyond collaboration as it has strengthened law enforcement (investigations, prosecutions) and tackles vulnerabilities in government systems.