The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has dragged over 500 contractors across the country back to sites. This is to force them to complete abandoned and shoddily completed projects littered across the nation.
Speaking on abandoned projects on Wednesday in Abuja, the spokesperson of the ICPC, Demola Bakare, disclosed this to newsmen. He stated that the Commission was able to get the contractors back to sites through its Constituency and Executie Project Tracking Initiatives, CEPTI.
Bakare quoted the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, to have made this revelation during at a policy dialogue on the Role of the Private Sector in the Implementation of Constituency Projects in Nigeria.
He noted that The Dialogue was organized by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative in Abuja.
The ICPC Chairman who was represented by the Secretary of the Commission, Clifford Oparaodu, said CEPTI had saved the country hundreds of millions of Naira in the process.
He said, “CEPTI, through its various phases has tracked over 3,485 projects between 2019 and 2023.
“Some of the uncompleted projects not only deprived Nigerians of basic amenities and infrastructure but also posed the risk of increased security risks.
“Some of the projects or buildings might be inhabited by unscrupulous members of the community.”
The Chairman, therefore, underlined the importance of the private sector in monitoring the implementation of constituency projects in the country.
“Completed constituency projects were major dividends of democracy, which fostered growth and development at the grassroots,” he said.
Aliyu added that lack of accountability in the execution of projects was “a red flag of systemic corruption”. This, he said, shortchanges the electorate and deprives them of beneficial social systems that should be readily available.
He further noted that the private sector had a major role to play. He noted that they are better placed to identifying and preventing corruption in project execution.
The Chairman, therefore, highlighted the successes recorded via the project tracking initiative of the commission.
He lauded the increased impact of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), NGOs and other stakeholders in the private sector.
He said, “Private sector participation in constituency project implementation is integral to the execution of such projects. Hence, it should be accorded the necessary encouragement.
“This is based on the conviction that the process stands to benefit more from value chain in areas. Like funding and investment.”
The ICPC Chairman stated that the Supreme Court’s recent pronouncement on Local Government autonomy necessitated increased efforts to optimize the resources allocated to the grassroots.
source: Premium Times
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