The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre has commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for investigating allegations of misappropriating N90 billion in hajj subsidies.

The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa, gave the commendation in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday.

Mr Musa described the alleged widespread looting during the recently concluded hajj exercise as alarming, particularly given the religious significance of the exercise.

According to him, reports indicate that despite substantial payments and the allocation of federal government subsidies, many pilgrims received substandard treatment.

He said that the situation raised serious concerns about the management of funds by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.

“We commend ICPC’s efforts at exposing this monumental fraud, and urge it to ensure that corruption is rooted out of our public institutions,” Musa said.

He said that CISLAC’s concerns were further heightened by Nigeria’s ongoing struggle with corruption.

According to him, Nigeria ranked 150 out of 180 countries on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International.

“This CPI score, which reflects the perceived levels of public sector corruption, underscores the urgent need for reforms,” he said.

Mr Musa, who also heads Transparency International Nigeria (TI-Nigeria), said that persistent fraud and institutional failures had contributed to the country’s deepening poverty.

“There are over 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty, according to recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. The diversion of public funds intended for citizens’ welfare has exacerbated the nation’s socio-economic challenges. The level of fraud and disregard for institutional integrity have plunged millions of Nigerians into abject poverty while a few individuals amass wealth at the expense of the general populace,” he said.

The CISLAC boss further condemned the actions of corrupt public officials, attributing Nigeria’s current state to their wickedness.

He called for a concerted effort to restore trust, integrity, and dignity to the nation’s public institutions.

He expressed hope that with the ICPC’ investigation, the case would serve as a turning point in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

(NAN)