By Miriam Humbe
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu SAN, has underlined the importance of the Private sector in monitoring the implementation of constituency projects in Nigeria.
He made this known on Monday at a Policy Dialogue on the Role of the Private Sector in the Implementation of Constituency Projects in Nigeria, organised by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative in Abuja.
Demola Bakare, the Acting Director, Public Enlightenment and Education/
Spokesperson for the Commission disclosed this in a statement.
The Chairman who was represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Barr. Clifford Oparaodu DSSRS, observed that constituency projects functioned as a major gateway into the dividends of democracy by fostering growth and development at the grassroots.
He opined that a lack of accountability on projects is “a red flag of systemic corruption” that short changes the electorate and deprives them of beneficial social systems that should be readily available by siphoning public funds.
The ICPC stalwart maintained that the private sector has an increased role in identifying and preventing corruption on projects and highlighted the successes recorded via the project tracking initiative of the Commission.
He lauded the increased impact of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), NGOs and other stakeholders in the private sector, saying their input has been immense in the giant strides made towards curbing corruption in constituency project implementation.
He said: “With the active participation of the private sector, ICPC has via the Constituency and Executive Project Tracking Initiative (CEPTI), forced over five hundred contractors to return to sites to complete abandoned and shoddily completed projects, saving the country hundreds of millions of naira in the process.
“CEPTI, through its various phases has tracked over 3,485 projects between 2019 and 2023.
“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”.
Dr Aliyu said that the recent pronouncement of the Supreme Court as regards Local Government autonomy necessitates increased efforts to optimise the resources allocated to the grassroots.
The ICPC Chairman added that some of the uncompleted projects not only deprived Nigerians of basic amenities and infrastructure but also posed the risk of increased security risks as some of these projects or buildings may be inhabited by unscrupulous members of the community.
While welcoming participants to the policy dialogue, the Executive Director of Order paper, Mr Oke Epia said that “Constituency projects are no longer matters under the radar” as they are meant to benefit communities and improve the living standard of the society.
He further said that Order paper from its inception was in the business of correcting erroneous information and misconceptions about the role of lawmakers in the implementation of constituency projects.
He maintained that the corruption and lack of accountability in the execution of such projects should not be apportioned to lawmakers alone but rather the spotlight should also focus on contractors.
According to Mr Epia, “corruption can not happen without the connivance and collaboration of contractors and the financial system (institutions) too”.
He urged stakeholders to see the dialogue as an opportunity to facilitate robust conversation and focus on how to collaborate with the private sector to deescalate issues hampering transparency and accountability.
Meanwhile the Majority leader of the Senate, Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele expressed that the success of the implementation of constituency projects is dependant on the conduct of all key players in the sector.
According to Senator Bamidele, “No government, no matter how well organized, can guarantee a nation’s rebirth”.
He called on members of the private sector to dedicate time and resources to the growth and development of their communities as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr Ola Olukoyede who was represented by Dr Eze Johnson stated that key players of the private sector should work in tandem with Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) like ICPC and EFCC to be able to curb the corruption in constituency projects.
He added that the input of members of the community is a equally important in the implementation of projects as they are the end users and their input will automatically reduce waste and prevent corruption.
He praised the initiative of the convener of the policy dialogue, stating that constant discourse creates multiple solutions to prevailing issues in the implementation of constituency projects.
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