MDA Padded 2021,2022 budgets with N300bn, N100bn--- ICPC

MDA Padded 2021,2022 budgets with N300bn, N100bn--- ICPC

N400bn projects padded into budget.

*Tracks N49.9bn collected as salaries by ghost workers from Jan to June 2022

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has revealed that the 2021 budget totalling N13.59trn, was padded by some fraudulent officers in the various Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) with duplicated projects worth N300bn.

The agency also said that projects worth N100bn were also duplicated and inserted into the N17.12trn 2022 budget by some MDAs.

The anti-graft agency added that N49.9bn paid as salaries to ghost workers between January and June this year have been tracked.

Chairman of the ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, disclosed this when he led senior officers of the agency to appear before the Senate Committee on Finance, yesterday.

The ICPC boss said the N300bn duplicated projects in the 2021 budget and the N100bn in the 2022 budget were tracked through thorough scrutiny carried out on the approved projects for the various MDAs.

Owasanoye said, “N300bn would have been wasted by the Federal Government on duplicated projects inserted into the 2021 budget and another N100bn for the same purpose in the current fiscal year if not tracked and intercepted by ICPC.

“The same pre-emptive move saved the country from spending N49.9bn for salaries of ghost workers put on fictitious payroll by some fraudulent officers in the various MDAs between January and June this year.

“Names of the MDAs involved in projects duplications running into intercepted billions of naira and fictitious payrolls, are available and will be forwarded to the (Senate Finance) Committee.

“The good thing about the pre-emptive moves made by us is that monies for the fraudulent acts were prevented from being released to the affected MDAs and it is gratifying that the Finance Ministry and Accountant General Office cooperated with us, ” he said.

He advised relevant committees of the National Assembly to be on the lookout for such project duplication in the proposed N19.76trn 2023 budget.

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“From our end, detection of such projects is done by verifying their locations and names, upon which we tell the appropriate authorities not to release wrongly budgeted monies for them,” he added.

The submissions of the ICPC boss were applauded by the Senate Committee through its Chairman, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Lagos West).

The panel promised the anti-graft agency that its operational cost of N1.8bn would be increased to enable it to carry out its functions, more efficiently and effectively.

Adeola said, “This Committee is impressed by proactive ways your commission is adopting in the fight against corruption.

“Your submissions clearly show that all hope is not lost for our dear country as far as fighting corruption is concerned.

“Your operational cost which is N1.8bn will be increased as the required impetus for more proactive measures against corrupt practices across the various MDAs,” he said.