The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has uncovered massive corruption as it traces at least N2.7 billion school feeding funds to the private accounts of some government officials.
The anti-corruption body made the announcement on Monday during its 2nd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption.
It ws also an occasion to launch the National Ethics and Integrity Policy at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to the Chairman of ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, the money was meant for a number of Federal Colleges during the #COVID19Nigeria lockdown.
Out of the uncovered amount, N2.5 billion was traced to the account of a deceased senior civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Commission confirmed that the said sum was meant for the deceased and his cronies.
Other assets recovered in the Ministry of Agriculture include 12 business premises, 25 plots of land and 18 buildings.
In post threads monitored on ICPC twitter handle overnight, the commission said:
“We discovered payment of N2.67bn during lockdown when the children were not in school, and some money ended up in personal accounts. We have commenced investigations into these findings.
“Early this year, the Commission based on intelligence seized over 16bn from Federal Ministry of Agriculture because the money was moved under suspicious circumstances below the threshold of monitoring by Accountant- General.
“We also found payments to agric contractors for no job done or overpayments for jobs done and appropriation of projects on private farms of senior civil servants of the Ministry.
“One individual from the Ministry now deceased appropriated over N2.5bn to himself and and cronies. Other assets recovered include 18 buildings , 12 business premises and. 25 plots of land.
Read also:
“President Muhammadu Buhari’s Address to the Nation on Covid-19
Massive Corruption as ICPC Traces N2.7 billion School Feeding Funds