Buhari orders probe of project racketeering, ghost workers
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
President Muhammadu Buhari says he will no longer put up with corruption and has ordered the probe and sanction of public officials who duplicate projects and pad budgets and payrolls to steal from the treasury.
At least 257 projects worth N20.138 billion are duplicated in the 2021 budget alone, according to Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye.
Buhari asked the ICPC to probe heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and other officials who engage in project racketeering, budget, and payroll padding and keep “ghost workers” whose salaries they collect.
He gave the directive at the third National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector in Abuja, where he said the ICPC has exposed MDAs that present new projects as ongoing and thereby increase the cost of governance.
“Necessary action and sanctions should be taken against the heads of such errant MDAs. I am confident that ICPC will continue to maintain the vigilance required of her by the ICPC Act in this regard,” he said, per The Nation.
“We reduced the cost of governance by maintaining our promise to complete abandoned or ongoing projects commenced by previous administrations and have ensured that MDAs do not put forward new capital projects at the expense of ongoing projects.
“Government has, however, noted from the activities of the ICPC that some MDAs have devised the fraudulent practice of presenting new projects as ongoing projects.
“I am however delighted that the Legislative and Judicial arms of government are also under focus on managing the cost of government because the government is collective and is not the business of the Executive branch alone.”
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Recognition of honest public officials
Buhari expressed delight that some public officers demonstrate integrity and patriotism, three of whom were presented with the 2021 Public Service Integrity Awards at the event by Chief Justice Ibrahim Muhammad.
They are
- Nelson Okoronkwo, Deputy Director (Legal) Federal Ministry of Information and Culture
- Muhammad Ahmad, Assistant Commander of Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and
- Ikenna Nweke, a doctoral student in Japan.
Okoronkwo was recognised for his consistent integrity in the different ministries where he served.
As Chairman of the Committee on Illegal Recruitment in the Ministry of Information and Culture, he facilitated the detection and removal of over 3,000 fake employers and saved millions of naira in salaries and emoluments.
Okonkwo was also credited to have reported corrupt practices that led to the Ogoni cleanup investigation in the Ministry of Environment.
Ahmad was recognised for demonstrating the highest ideals and standards of public service in the discharge of his responsibilities.
Ahmad, a recipient of the Chairman/Chief Executive Award for Outstanding Performance and Integrity, recently recovered and declared to his agency $24,500 offered to him as a bribe by a drug baron.
Nweke found a wallet containing a very large amount of money and other valuables and handed it over to the Japanese police. He declined 10 per cent of the money offered to him as a reward.
Nweke, who joined the event in Abuja virtually from Japan, was recognised for his honesty and integrity.
Buhari said: “I am also happy to note the ICPC special award to Ikenna Steve Nweke, a Nigerian PhD student from Imo State studying in Japan.
“He has done Nigeria proud in far-away Japan by displaying traditional Nigerian values of honesty and integrity and returning a wallet containing a very large sum of money and other valuables to the police.
“He also declined 10 per cent of the money found as a reward offered to him.
“He is indeed an icon and a beacon for our youths. I also congratulate all those to be awarded the ICPC Certificate of Integrity through their agencies.”
