ICPC recovers Six
ICPC recovers Six Tractors from Senator
The on-going tracking of constituency projects by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
(ICPC) and its partners through the Constituency Projects Tracking
Group (CPTG) initiative has yielded yet another significant result
with the recovery of six tractors meant for the use of farmers in
six local government areas of Bauchi Central Senatorial
District.
The tractors formed part of a N430 million contract for the
supply of pumping machines and other agricultural machinery to
farmers in the senatorial district, which was awarded in 2015 by
the Federal Government as part of Senators’ constituency projects
across the nation.
The CPTG team for Bauchi discovered that N76.6 million was paid
for the tractors in December 2015 and supplied in March 2016. They
were supposed to have been distributed for the use of farmers in
each of the six local government areas in the Senatorial District
that included Misau, Dambam, Ningi, Warji, Darazo and Ganjuwa. It
was found out that the tractors had obviously not been distributed
as required in the terms of the contract.
In the effort to trace the tractors, Isa Hamman Misau, the then
Senator under whose auspices the project was included in the budget
to be executed by the MDG office, met with officials of ICPC in
Bauchi and in a written statement claimed that the tractors were
kept in Yuli village.
However, the CPTG team did not find any of the tractors there
and some of the intended beneficiaries who were interviewed claimed
not to have ever seen the tractors in the village as claimed by the
Senator.
The Senator who was later contacted on telephone by the CPTG
team, to ascertain the actual location of the tractors, could not
offer any positive explanation during the conversation.
The CPTG team however gathered through intelligence that the
tractors were being hurriedly moved to Ganjuwa local government
headquarters and it then proceeded to the place to take custody of
them.
The tractors which are already showing signs of dilapidation as
a result of usage, with some leaking oil, have been seized by the
Commission and handed over to the Chairman, Ganjuwa Local
Government for safe keep pending further directives.
The CPTG assessment and review of constituency projects across
Nigeria by the Commission and its partners; Nigerian Institute of
Quantity Surveyors, Bureau of Public Procurement, Budget Office of
the Federation, Premium Times, BudgIT and Udeme.ng is aimed at
ensuring satisfactory execution of all Constituency Projects across
the country. It has so far led to multiple recoveries of items,
hospital equipment, vehicles and funds. It has also forced many
contractors who hitherto had abandoned projects to return to site
to complete them.
Among the recoveries so far made by the CPTG team are dialysis
machine, ECG monitor, oxygen regulator, Anaesthetic machines,
generators and other hospital equipment meant for a cottage
hospital in Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom
State, from premises of Mma Obot Foundation, alleged to belong to
Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Signed: Mrs. Rasheedat A. Okoduwa, mni
Spokesperson for the Commission