ICPC to probe fraudulent procurement in 712 government-funded projects across 20 states

By Adeleye Kunle

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) will probe fraudulent procurement, and others in 712 government projects in 20 Nigerian states as part of Phase 5 of the Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Exercise.

Track News learnt this in a statement signed by the Commission’s spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, on Sunday.

ICPC said that the 5th phase, involving 712 government-funded projects, will commence on the 8th of November, 2022, in 20 states cutting across the six geopolitical zones. The states are Kaduna, Jigawa, Sokoto, Katsina, Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Cross River, Delta, Rivers, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Borno, Bauchi, and Gombe states.

The anti-corruption agency noted that with other tracking exercises carried out by ICPC since the kick-off in 2019, the objective of Phase 5 is to investigate fraudulent procurement practices in awarding contracts for the selected projects across the country. It aims to ensure that all government-funded projects are executed fully to their specifications and to make recoveries where the project costs are inflated by contractors or are poorly executed.

The Commission, in the 4th Phase of the exercise, successfully tracked 538 projects across nine focal areas of Health, Education, Power, Water Resources, Works, Housing, Agriculture, Transport, and Environment