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Tag: ICPC

  • ICPC clears D’banj of N-Power fraud, rape

    ICPC clears D’banj of N-Power fraud, rape

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have cleared a Nigerian singer, Dapo Oyebanjo, fondly called D’banj, of fraud and rape allegations.

    It was gathered that the anti-graft agency and the police cleared D”banj of N-power fraud and rape allegations in different clearance reports upon completion of investigations.

    According to The Punch, an affidavit deposed by Toheeb Lawal of an Abuja-based law firm, Law Corridor, before the District Court of Abuja shows that the Nigerian singer is free from any allegation.

    The newspaper said in the reports of the Nigeria Police Force Investigation and clearance from the ICPC were marked exhibits A and B, the legal practitioner averred that the police and the ICPC cleared the singer of rape and fraud allegations.

    In 2020, the singer was accused of rape, and then Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, ordered an investigation into the allegation.

    In a report dated November 14, 2023, with case number CR:3000/X/FHQ/ABJ/SEB/T.1/VOL 18/284 and signed by ACP YY Abubakar of the Special Enquiry Bureau at the Force Criminal Investigations Department at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, the police said the matter was investigated but there was no evidence to substantiate the claim.

    The police report read in part: “The allegation was investigated. The complainant, witnesses, and suspects made their statements.

    “The investigation was extended to the Glee Hotel Lagos, where the staff on duty on the date of the alleged incident made their statement.

    “The management and staff of the Glee Hotel averred that the first suspect was not seen in the hotel on the date of the alleged incident, nor was he given a spare key to gain access to any room in the hotel where the complainant lodged, and they have only one key to each room, which completely debunked the allegation of the complainant.

    “The management of the hotel also held that it had no record to show that the complainant checked into the hotel as a guest on the alleged date, and she did not, at any time, raise the alarm, complain, or report any indecent assault or rape.

    “There is no medical report on the victim to ascertain that she was raped. There are no adduced facts or corroborative evidence to substantiate the allegation of rape against the suspect. Prima facie offences of indecent assault, rape, and intimidation are not made out.

    “However, the complainant, through her counsel, Ojoge, Omileye & Partners, submitted a letter, dated July 17, 2020, to the DIG Force CID, to withdraw the petition and discontinue the investigation voluntarily.”

    Also, in 2022, the ICPC accused D’banj of diverting funds associated with the N-Power Programme of the Federal Government.

    However, after its investigation, the ICPC said that D’banj was not guilty of any fraud allegation and cleared D’banj of any infraction on the matter.

    The clarification was dated November 29, 2023, with document number ICPC/OPS/SDD/SPT.LG/31/23.

    The clearance reads: “The commission investigated issues of fraud in the administration of the N-POWER Scheme, where Mr Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo’s name came up. However, there was no prima facie case of fraud against him.

    “Kindly be advised that Mr Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo is not under investigation with the Commission for any fraud-related offence.”

    D’banj’s lawyer, in his deposition filed before the Chief District Court of the Federal Capital Territory at Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, also averred that the singer was never a government official.

  • Sexual harassment is corruption, attracts 7-year-imprisonment, ICPC warns

    Sexual harassment is corruption, attracts 7-year-imprisonment, ICPC warns

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says sexual harassment is a corrupt practice that attracts imprisonment term not less than seven years.

    The Secretary to the commission, Mr Clifford Oparaodu, gave the warning in Abuja at a One Day Sensitization Workshop on Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions.

    Oparaodu said that ICPC regarded sexual harassment as a corrupt practice; hence there was a need for victims to know their rights and how to seek justice.

    He expressed concern that sexual gratification had become a form of “illegal tender” in many institutions.

    “Sexual harassment is a form of corruption.

    “It is a deviation from the norm for an official to use his/her office or position to demand, receive, obtain or attempt to obtain any form of sexual gratification for him to perform his duties.

    “Ideally, official duties ought to be carried out with integrity, good conscience, and diligence without the expectation of any unlawful benefit,” he said

    According to him, Section 2 (f) of the ICPC Act states that gratification includes any service or favour of any description …” Section 8 of the ICPC Act says:

    “Any person who corruptly asks for, receives or obtains any property or benefit of any kind for himself or any other person; is guilty of an offence of Official corruption and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

    “It is pertinent to note that unlawful benefits are not always pecuniary and it is disheartening that sexual gratification has become a form of “illegal tender” in many institutions.

    “Staff members have been found to use their office to demand and receive sexual benefits from other staff and students in exchange for good grades or other favours,” he said.

    Oparaodu said that it was unfortunate that due to the fear of stigmatisation or further victimisation, many targets of such demands find themselves forced to succumb.

    “This is in order to avoid dire consequences and denial of benefits to which they may ordinarily even be entitled.

    “The culture of silence has allowed sexual harassment thrives but ICPC is working relentlessly to ensure that with sensitization and appropriate policy implementation, this culture would gradually change,” he said.

    He said that ICPC is determined to put a stop to this, initiated the Sexual Harassment Unit with a focus on prevention of sexual harassment in tertiary and secondary institutions.

    Oparaodu said that this was to address the issue of sexual gratification and abuse of office and power by officials.

    He explained that the purpose of the workshop was to educate students about how to easily contact the ICPC, report incidents of sexual harassment, and gather evidence in a way that will support the commission’s investigations.

    In a paper he presented on “Sexual harassment, an offence against the individual/a crime against society, the

    The Deputy Director, Proceed of Crime Department, ICPC, Mr Adenekan Shogunle, in a paper presented, urged participants to regard the fight as a collective one.

    Shogunle said that youths should not accept sexual harassment, saying that the menace needed to be stopped to ensure the safety of educational institutions for learning.

    “What is essentially a social disorder has become normal in many tertiary institutions.

    “Absence of effective grievance remedial mechanisms and prevalent culture of silence, social tolerance has left many female students at the mercy of rabid predators.

    “In a bid for justice, survivors are taking matters into their own hands; naming perpetrators and sharing experiences on social media,’’ he said.

    The Assistant Director, Legal Unit, in ICPC, Mrs Peace Aroch, in a paper,   said sexual harassment had psychological implications, which had to do with the mental or emotional state of the survivor.

    Aroch said people sexually-harassed commonly experienced stress, anxiety, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

    She said that sexual harassment was still being under-reported in spite of its social media posts.

    The director said that sexual harassment was still being under-reported because of issues of trust, security, fear and poor financial standing of survivors.

    Aroch called on the private and public sectors to establish their workplaces sexual harassment policies.

    She said that they could make recourse to ICPC’s sexual harassment policy to prepare their own.

    Policy Lead Gender, Mobile Initiative, Sarah Egbo, in a paper urged institution leaders to demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing sexual harassment

    Egbo also called for involvement of the entire institution in policy development and implementation; ensure transparency in reporting, investigation and decision making.

    She encouraged collaboration with local organisation, law enforcement and other stakeholders for a coordinated response.

  • ECOWAS group, ICPC urge African leaders to step up fight against illicit financial flow

    ECOWAS group, ICPC urge African leaders to step up fight against illicit financial flow

    Mr Edwin Harris, the Director-General of the ECOWAS Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering In West Africa (GIABA), Senegal, has urged African leaders to step up efforts in the fight againsr Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) in the region.

    Harris made the call while delivering a lecture at the 11th anniversary annual lecture of Realnews and investiture into the Realnews Hall of Fame on Tuesday in Lagos.
    The theme of the lecture is :” The Threats of Illicit Financial Flow to the African Economy”.
    He stated that IFFs are a systemic problem requiring a systemic solution and as such, African leaders cannot afford to relax in the fight against a cankerworm that threatens their sustainable development.
    The director-general noted that IFFs as money illegally earned, transferred or used in violation of laws in their origin, or during their movement or use, and are therefore considered illicit.
    ”IFFs from Africa typically originates from three sources, which are : corruption, including money acquired through bribery and abuse of office by public sector and private sector officials.
    ”Others are criminal activities, ranging from trafficking in people and drugs, arms smuggling, fraud in the financial sector, such as unauthorised or unsecured loans, money laundering, stock market manipulation and outright forgery,” he said.
    Harris also mentioned commercial activities, arising from business-related activities, and having several purposes, including hiding wealth, evading or aggressively avoiding tax, and dodging customs duties and domestic levies.
    The GIABA director-general said that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) High Level Panel (HLP) on IFFs had stated that Africa is estimated to have lost one trilliondollars or more over the past 50 years to IFFs.
    The commission, he said also revelealed that the continent is estimated to lose more than 50 billion annually in IFFs .
    Harris stressed that this was corroborated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which estimated that Africa loses as much as $60 billion each year in IFFs.
    He stated that in 2020, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in its report on Economic Development in Africa, estimated that Africa loses about US$88.6 billion, 3.7 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), annually in IFF.
    Harris said, at a regional level, the scale of criminal proceeds in the West Africa has been estimated at 3.6.per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) .
    “IFF are a global phenomenon and do not respect borders. They undermine global social, political and economic security and have become a serious threat to the attainment of development agenda, particularly in Africa.
    “Africa’s efforts to ensure the reduction of IFFs must be pro-active, firm and unwavering while activities that give rise to IFFs must be vigorously fought without compromise.
    “The key task is to take bold steps, cooperate and coordinate efforts, and unit to dismantle the system extracting wealth from Africa, ” he said.
    According to him, this requires collective actions by all critical stakeholders, including national authorities, the private sector and civil society organisations to press for change in their countries and the continent at large.
    Harris commended Realnews and other media houses in Africa for their effort in fighting against IFFs.
    In her welcome address, Ms Maureen Chigbo, the Publisher of Realnews said that the anniversary lecture series is one way the medium contributes to nation-building and development.
    Chigbo said Realnews does this by providing a forum for policy change-oriented discussions by professionals, scholars, technocrats and decision-makers on the way forward for our great nation and Africa in general.
    “The lecture series since 2014 have focused elections, economy, security, challenges of leadership in Africa, Africa’s political transitions oil and gas, unfolding integration of the African Market, and drug abuse among youths in Africa.
    “This year, we zeroed in on “Threats of Illicit funds flow to the African Economy”, because of our deep concern about the nefarious effect of illicit funds flow on the economy, resulting in dwindling revenue for Africa governments,” she said.
    According to her, the theme of the lecture was borne out of a revelation by Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) on Oct. 22, that Nigeria lost $18 billion yearly to IFFs through the banking sector.
    Chigbo stated that Rafsanjani, also Head, Transparency International (TI) Nigeria, had disclosed that Nigeria is one of the 23 countries ranked as non-co-operative in the combined efforts to fight money laundering globally, since its establishment in 2003.
    She said to address this burning issue, the medium searched for Harris and other selected panel of discussants with relevant expertise, knowledge and experience to shed more lights on the topic.
    The publisher appreciated the speakers and sponsors of the event in various capacities for their unwavering support to the medium.
    In a panel discussion, Mr Kayode Adedayo, Director of Proceeds of Crime Department, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said African countries must prioties the prevention of the movement of illicit funds from their territories.
    Adedayo noted that this was imperative because once the funds are moved, particularly to the Western countries and discovered, and effort is made for its repatriation, they are returned after several years without interest.
    Also, Mr Felix Obiamalu, Associate Director of Legal and Sanctions, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) urged the Federal Government to establish a clear and up-to-date policy and guidelines on how to combat IFF in Nigeria.
    Obiamalu stated that while IFF is a menace that has eaten deepen into the Nigerian system, government at all level should lead by showing a political will to destroy it and promote the whistle blower mentality among the citizens.
    The highlight of the event was induction of new members into the Realnews Hall of Fame.
    The new members are : Harris, Adedayo, Obiamalu, Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission and Mr Ahmed Karu, Managing Director, Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria.

     

     

  • ICPC recommends antidote to corruption in Nigeria

    ICPC recommends antidote to corruption in Nigeria

    Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has stressed the need for a better living wages as an antidote to corrupt practices in the civil service.

    Owasanoye said this on Thursday in Abuja at a National Policy Dialogue on Living Wages and Corruption in Nigeria organised by the ICPC.

    The dialogue was organised in collaboration with Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria and Michael Imodu National Institute for Labour Studies.

    The ICPC boss, who described poor living wage as an enabler for corruption in the public service, said one of the ways to address corruption in the sector was to enhance the living wage.

    According to him, there exists a direct relationship between poor living wages and corruption, which then indicates that low wages can make the workforce to be susceptible to corruption.

    Owasanoye, who urged the government to pay more attention into the welfare of public servants, said this would reduce the level of corrupt practices in the country.

    He noted that the ICPC’s research into the issue of inadequate living wages in Nigeria revealed that there had been several minimum wage policies since 1981.

    He, however, noted that little or no attention had been paid to actual living wages for workers, especially, public servants.

    The ICPC boss said that research also showed that widespread corruption in the public service created corruption enabling social norms.

    He said the trend made public servants and citizens normalised the expectation and acceptance of bribes while carrying out their statutory duties.

    “This practice, where public servants demand (expect and ask) or are supplied (offered and accept) bribes increases the cost of accessing public services for citizens.

    “And, has been found to be partly motivated and sustained by inadequate living wages and the rising cost of living.

    “Evidently, the corruption that results from poor living wages, comes at a cost to all of society.

    “For example, the people are denied quality access to public goods and services, while the government is unable to provide quality and timely goods and services to the people,” he said.

    According to him, this has far-reaching effects on the nation: from undermining trust in the government, to perpetuating poverty and income inequality and even fostering general insecurity.

    He said that the dialogue became necessary when taking cognisance of the fact that the public service was the vehicle through which governments at all levels delivered a broad range of public goods and services to the people.

    “Invariably; a corrupt public service inhibits the distribution and timely supply of these public goods and services in equal measure to every citizen, thereby marginalizing the weaker and more vulnerable segments of the nation’s population.

    “Therefore, neglecting a fundamental causative factor like the welfare of public servants could have fatal consequences on the wellbeing of the Nation in general,” he said.

    Owasanoye expressed the hope that each stakeholder participating would develop and contribute a set of indicators relevant to the working conditions and schedules of their primary constituencies.

    He said this would further enrich the national living wage policy document.

    The ICPC boss said that their contributions as key stakeholders, should be data-driven and should be based on scientific forecasts of likely economic changes in the near to long term, to properly guide policy direction and cost of living adjustments.

    “This we hope, will reduce, and possibly eradicate, the frequent disputes between the government and its workforce, which mostly arise as a result of sudden economic shocks, or pressures from rent seekers.”

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, represented by Mr Alex Olebe, noted that poor reward system contributed in sharp practices outside of existence of greed and need based corruptive tendencies by individuals.

    “This further manifests in prevalence of inequalities, lack of quality services, and lack of investment by organizations resulting in low economic growth and development amongst others.

    “It is against this backdrop that I urge all leaders of thought participating in this dialogue to utilize this opportunity to extensively deliberate on ways and means living wage issues can be handled to prevent corruption in and outside the workplaces for Socio-economic development in the interest of all and sundry.”

    Lalong expressed the hope that the dialogue would provide a veritable platform for experience sharing that would assist the government in curbing the negative impacts of corruption in Nigeria.

    The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Esan, represented by the Director Service Delivery, HOSF Office,  Mr Muhammed Musa, reiterated government’s commitment to workers’ welfare.

    “We are committed to the welfare of the civil servants. It will make them to be more dedicated and corrupt free,” she said

    Also, the President of the Nigerian Labour Union (NLC),  Joe Ajero, represented by Comrade Hauwa Mustapha, described good wages as pivotal to working right of workers.

    Similarly; the President of Trade union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, represented by Dr Tommy Etim, said that better living wages must be implemented to make Nigerian workers articulate.

    Dafe Otobo, a professor of Industrial Relations, in a keynote address called for adequate remuneration for public servants to ensure their commitment to service.

    He opined that certain employees might resort to taking bribes in order to compensate for the difference in wages, if they had lower pay compared to private sector.

  • ICPC set to arraign suspended UNICAL Professor

    ICPC set to arraign suspended UNICAL Professor

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it is set to arraign Prof. Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), at a Federal High Court, in Cross River.

    The ICPC’s Spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, in a statement said the commission had filed a criminal charge against Ndifon, following the conclusion of investigation into the professor’s alleged gross misconducts against some of his students.

    The commission said a four-count charge bordering on sexual harassment, official corruption and abuse of office contrary to Sections 8, 18 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, had been preferred against the senior lecturer.

    In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/511/2023, one of the counts reads: “That you, Professor CYRIL OSIM NDIFON (m) between June-September, 2023 at Calabar, within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court.

    “And, while being a public officer charged with responsibility for the certification of students as fit in learning and character as a prerequisite for the award of Bachelor’s degree in law and admission into the Nigeria Law School.

    “Used your office and position as the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Calabar to gratify yourself.

    “By soliciting for nude photographs and videos from one Ms. ABC (not real name), a year 2 diploma student of the University of Calabar, through WhatsApp chats on your telephone number 0803***.

    “And, thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”

    It said Ndifon would be arraigned in court on a date to be given by the court.

    It would be recalled that ICPC, in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS), had, on Oct. 4, arrested Ndifon in Calabar, Cross River, after shunning several invitations extended to him.

  • Senate confirms Musa Aliyu as ICPC Chairman

    Senate confirms Musa Aliyu as ICPC Chairman

    The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Malam Musa Aliyu as the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    This followed the adoption of a motion by the Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti) at the Committee of the Whole on Thursday.

    Presenting the motion, Bamidele urged the Senate to consider the request of President Bola Tinubu for the confirmation of Aliyu for appointment as ICP Chairman.

    He said the request was in accordance with Section 3 (6) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Establishment Act, 2000.

    He also urged the Senate to consider Tinubu’s request to confirm the appointment of Mr Saka Suleiman and Prof. Gaji Dantata as members of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

    He said the request was in accordance with the provisions of Section 154 (1) and (3) and paragraph 12 (f) of Part 1 to the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.

    Before their screening, the Senate suspended its rule to allow the admittance of the nominees and other guest into the chamber.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Sen. Abdullahi Gumel led the nominees into the chamber.

    Thereafter, the nominees gave highlight of their career profiles and professional experiences.

    Aliyu, current the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Jigawa said that he initiated far-reaching judicial reforms as the Attorney General of Jigawa since September 2019.

    The senate thereafter confirmed the appointment of Prof. Gaji Dantata and Mr Saka Suleiman as members of Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) representing Kano and Kwara.

    Deputy President of Senate, Barau Jibrin, who presided over plenary in his remarks said their appointment was a call to service.

    He urged them not to disappoint the President and Nigerians while urging them to bring in their best to the service of the country

     

  • ICPC: Constituency Projects tracking reducing avenues of corruption

    ICPC: Constituency Projects tracking reducing avenues of corruption

    … Commission to investigate alleged missing multi-million naira projects in Lagos

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission says it will investigate reports of missing multi-million-naira school projects in Lagos as the Commission commenced Phase 6 of its constituency and executive projects tracking.

    The Commission also revealed that the constituency project tracking initiative has been improving execution nationwide and declining infractions.

    ICPC’s Deputy Commissioner, Constituency and Executive Project Tracking, Jimoh Suleiman, made these developments known during an anti-corruption radio programme, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

    The anti-graft agency began the Phase 6 tracking of the constituency and executive projects on Monday, 16 October 2023, in 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Commission said projects to be tracked are valued at N500 billion.

    Suleiman reacting to an investigation by the Udeme Project, published by TheCable, which exposed that multi-million-naira classroom projects were missing in schools at Ebute Metta, Ajah, Eti-Osa, and Victoria Island areas of Lagos State despite the government releasing funds, however, assured that “the Commission’s projects tracking team will look into the report.”

    According to TheCable’s report, N220 million was allocated and released to construct blocks of classrooms for five schools in Lagos Central Senatorial District as part of the 2022 federal government zonal intervention projects (ZIPs). Still, work was only done in one of the schools.

    Appraising the impact of tracking constituency and executive projects over the years, Suleiman revealed that the projects tracking initiative of the ICPC continues to yield results as more projects are now being executed while corruption is on a decline. Noting that “as at the last constituency projects tracking (2022), 93 percent of projects tracked were completed”.

    “Tracking of constituency projects has been awesome, and execution of the projects has improved following the establishment of our project tracking team. We are making recoveries when there is an infraction.

    “ICPC set up the consistency project tracking group with the objective of improving service delivering to the people to ensure our full execution of all government projects and to guarantee value for money in the implementation of projects and to make recoveries of public funds that had been mismanaged, and things are getting better, we are moving on.”

    Suleiman identified budgetary constraints as one of the main challenges ICPC faces in project tracking, revealing that the Commission would have loved to track all constituency and executive projects across the 36 federation states but for lack of funds. He added that reluctance by government agencies and politicization of constituency projects were some of the setbacks of the initiative.
    He also lamented ICPC’s difficulty in tracking empowerment projects while educating citizens that “Constituency Projects are not donations by legislators, but funded by the government.”

    On his part, the State Officer at BudgIT, Garba Abdullahi, lamented that projects are still being abandoned and poorly executed despite efforts of ICPC and the federal government allocating huge funds towards constituency projects.

    Abdullahi urged ICPC to work with civil society organizations in tracking more projects while calling on political leaders to ensure citizens are carried along by conducting proper “needs assessment” before nominating projects.

    He advised citizens to ask questions, hold their leaders accountable and take ownership of projects brought to their localities.
    “Leadership should always come to the community to ask what they want, or they should have somebody in the community that will take their needs to be their representative for them to act on it.
    “I think the ICPC is doing a very great job in terms of project tracking of the zonal intervention projects. I want the ICPC and the CSOs to engage more with the people. The ICPC should keep working to provide information to the public for them to know that the projects are for their good and not for the lawmakers,” Abdullahi said.

    Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.
    The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

  • Breaking: Tinubu appoints new ICPC Charman, Secretary

    Breaking: Tinubu appoints new ICPC Charman, Secretary

    President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday appointed a new management team for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC).

    A statement signed by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said that the new chairman is nominated for confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.

    The new ICPC appointees are Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, as chairman and chief executive officer, and Clifford Okwudiri Oparaodu, as secretary to the commission.

    This is following the President’s approval of the outgoing chairman’s request to proceed on pre-end of tenure leave beginning on November 4, 2023, ahead of the expiration of his tenure on February 3, 2024.

    The position of secretary to the commission, however, does not require Senate confirmation, and, therefore, by the directive of the President, the appointment of Oparaodu as secretary of the commission takes immediate effect.

    Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria-designate with a doctorate degree in law, had implemented far-reaching reforms as the Attorney General of Jigawa State.

    Oparaodu, a lawyer with over 30 years of experience, has served meritoriously in the public service as a member of the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission and chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Port Harcourt City Local Government Council.

    The President implored the new management team of ICPC to always be above board as they discharge their duties without fear or favour.

     

  • ICPC begins tracking of 111 constituency projects in Lagos

    ICPC begins tracking of 111 constituency projects in Lagos

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced tracking of 111 constituency projects in Lagos.

    The Resident Anti-corruption Commission Coordinator in Lagos, Mr Kabir Elelu, told NAN in Lagos on Tuesday that the monitoring team commenced the exercise on Monday.

    According to him, the team will visit all the local government offices in Lagos State for the exercise.

    Elelu said that the tracking would focus on constituency projects, executive projects, and captive funds.

    The commission says it will commence tracking of 1,932 constituency projects, valued at N500 billion in 26 states.

    Its spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, made the disclosure in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

    She said the objectives of the exercise included improved service delivery to the people by investigating fraudulent procurement practices in the award of public contracts.

    Others are to ensure full execution of all public funded projects; execution to specification of all projects funded by government and ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements.

    “It is also to ensure that government gets value for monies spent on projects,” she said.

  • Again, ICPC’s website ranked overall best among Federal MDAs

    Again, ICPC’s website ranked overall best among Federal MDAs

    …as ICPC Chairman, Prof Owasanoye bags Trail Blazers Award

    The Website of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC, has again emerged overall best in the 2023 ranking of all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ (MDAs) websites by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR).

    The award was presented to the ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, who was represented at the event by Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, Spokesperson of the Commission by the Director- General of BPSR, Mr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi, at an award dinner which marked the end of a two day Conference titled: Nigeria Govtech Conference with a theme: Advancing Public Service Reforms Through Digital Transformation.

    Notice of the award was conveyed via a letter to the ICPC Chairman, Prof. Owasanoye, titled “Nigeria Govtech Public Service Awards” and signed by the Director-General of BPSR, Mr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi.

    Part of the letter reads “Sequel to a nationwide nomination and online voting process initiated on Radio, Television and Newspaper publication in Punch newspaper of September 4th 2023, we are pleased to inform you that your organisation will be honoured with the prestigious Nigeria Govtech Award in the category of Best Federal MDA Informational Website”

    The Honourable Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye SAN, OFR, was also honoured with the “Trail Blazers Award” for the exemplary leadership he has demonstrated in the advancement of Govtech initiatives and digital governance within ICPC in line with Federal Government Digital Transformation in the Public Sector.

    It would be recalled that last year, the Commission’s website was ranked best among websites of 220 Federal Government MDAs in the 2021/2022 scorecard.

    The analysis was carried out by a jury that comprised of relevant government agencies, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Professional Bodies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), multinational information technology firms, etc. based on 14 criteria with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which include domain string, appearance and aesthetics, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and structure. Others are responsiveness, security, load time, usability, uptime, architecture, availability, interactivity to accessibility of the websites.

    Signed: Mrs. Azuka Ogugua
    Spokesperson, ICPC
    16th October 2023