Some Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government have been flagged for investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The MDAs were flagged due to breaches in the use of the COVID-19 intervention funds..
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, at the 2022 African Union Anti-Corruption Day which was declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in Abuja.
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The event was tagged: “Strategies and Mechanisms for the Transparent Management of COVID-19 Funds”.
The ICPC chairman said in a speech that “Some implicated MDAs refused the monitoring team access to their records thereby impeding the successful inquiry into their activities. These MDAs are flagged and will be investigated for breaches and infractions of the law and COVID-19 intervention funds guidelines and other procurement abuses.
“Hoarding and diversion of materials were also common, warranting the raids by people in some situations, facilities or locations warehousing palliatives. Some of such also created widespread violence.
“The Commission has observed discrepancies and infractions in the procurement and payments made by some ministries and agencies after the released and appropriate disbursement of COVID-19 funds.”
According to him, the Commission had also observed that the distribution of relief materials or palliatives was chaotic, disorderly and uncoordinated.
Reports, according to the ICPC Chairman, also showed selective distribution, favouritism, nepotism and other biases in the allocation and distribution of relief materials as well as the highjacking of palliatives by political actors, their proxies, cronies, and affiliates.
On the administration of COVID-19 vaccines, Prof. Owasanoye affirmed that the ICPC collaborated with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to ensure integrity, transparency and accountability in the distribution of the vaccine doses in the country.
“It was also to ensure that accountability is established and sustained throughout the four phases of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign focus: theft and embezzlement; service provision; vaccine availability; and advisory.
“The essence of this collaboration was to guarantee the integrity of the programme as any form of corruption or deviance however marginal in the COVID-19 vaccination exercise will undermine the huge efforts of government against the pandemic, deny and deprive willing Nigerians of the right to be vaccinated and may escalate and blow up the number of the infected, thereby worsening the health crisis,” he noted.