The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Wednesday in Ilorin began the tracking of N1.802 billion in executive projects in Kwara.

Nathaniel Sikpi, the principal superintendent of investigation of the ICPC Kogi Office, told journalists in Ilorin that the essence of the tracking was to ensure value for money.

Mr Sikpi said the tracking exercise, which is in its sixth phase, comprised 15 projects across the three senatorial districts in the state.

”If it is a construction project and we discover that it was not well carried out, we force the contractor to go back to the site and complete it so that it will benefit those it is meant for.

”If it is an empowerment project, which is a bit tricky, we have a way of going around it; when we discover that the job is not executed effectively, we will recover funds.

”And so far, we have recovered funds in billions, which are available for the public to see on the website of the commission at www.icpc.gov.ng,” he said.

For the tracking at the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), the ICPC official said the vehicles procured were not the ones specified in the contract.

He said the contract indicated a 2022 model 32-seater Toyota Coaster Bus, but a Mikano Hilux was procured.

Reacting to the changes, Mr Sikpi said further investigations would be carried out because the vehicles were procured from the head office and sent down to the state office.

He added that investigations would also be carried out on the sales of fertiliser at subsidised rates as against the free distribution that was stated in the contract.

Reacting to the findings, the Kwara coordinator of HYPPADEC, Hajara Alhassan, said the procured vehicles were more suitable for the terrain of the communities due to bad roads.

”The Hilux is good for most of our communities because most of these communities are suburbs, and coaster buses cannot go to communities like Patigi, Tsaragi, and Gbugbu.

”And on the fertilisers, we were directed by the commission to distribute them at subsidised rates to farmers. The payment was made into the TSA account that was given to us by the commission.

”So, the farmers paid to the community, who in turn paid to the account collectively; NPK was distributed at N9,600, while Urea was distributed at N10,400 per bag each,” Ms Alhassan explained.

At the National Health Insurance Agency, the team was to track the construction of the physical building and the furnishing and partitioning of the offices.

The team will visit Moro, Edu, and Baruten Local Government Areas of the state on Thursday and Friday for further tracking. 

(NAN)