Gyang Bere, Jos
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has vowed to monitor the implementation of constituency projects by federal and state legislators across Nigera to prevent fraud and abandonment.
The Commission said it has uncovered projects in 12 states of the federation which some legislators earmarked for implementation as constituency projects, saying that funds had been released for the projects which have been abandoned.
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The Chief Superintendent of ICPC, Mrs Okwong Miriam Ese, disclosed this in Jos yesterday during the flag-off of “I Follow The Money” Project held at the Permanent Site of the University of Jos, Plateau State.
She explained that ICPC partners with “I Follow The Money” Project, a Non Governmental Organisation to mobilise studen and young people in the country to monitor the performance of their representatives in government and uncover corrupt practices within and outside government.
“For ICPC we have a project that is currently ungoing; it is call Constituency Projects Tracking Group (CPTG). The programme monitors projects across the country, particularly projects that have been budgeted for and the money released but have not been implemented.
“Those constituency projects are laying down unattended to by some legislators nationwide. We are currently working in 12 states where those projects were uncovered to find out why those projects have not been executed and what are some of the issues surrounding it.
“We are asking the lawmakers to get the people responsible to go back to sites and get the work done in the interest of the constituents. We will monitor the 9th National Assembly and State legislators to ensure that projects that will be approved for their constituency are judiciously carried out. That is why we are partnering with “I Follow The Money” Project which has membership all over the federation,” she stated.
Founder of “I Follow The Money” Project Hamzat Lawal explained that the programme was initiated to mobilize Nigerian youths to hold their elected representatives in government accountable for the resources disbursed to them.
He noted that the project which was initiated in 2012 has helped the Federal Government recover about 10 million US dollars from corrupt politicians across the country.
“We have been having issues of corruption across the country and a lot of money have been recovered from the hands of looters,” she explained. “We have helped the Federal Government recover 10 million US dollars, and that money was used for one project and the other. We are moving from one campus to the other to sensitise students and youths on the need to hold their representatives accountable.”
The Coordinator of National Human Rights Commission, Plateau State, Mrs Grace Pam, urged the students to be conscious of their fundamental human rights, and that it is their right to monitor those they have sent to represent them in government.
She further urged the students to expose cases of child abuse, kidnapping, lynching and extrajudicial killings, as they are also violations of fundamental human rights.