The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has traced a N2.67 billion meant for the school feeding programme to a private accounts.
ICPC Chairman, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye made the disclosure, adding that the agency also found over N2.5 billion diverted by a deceased worker with the federal ministry of agriculture, noting that 18 buildings, 12 business premises, and 25 plots of land, were also recovered in the ministry.
Owasanoye disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, at the second National Summit on diminishing corruption in the public sector, themed, ‘Together against corruption’, which was organised in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation.
Under the Open Treasury Portal review carried out between January to August 15, 2020, he said 72 out of 268 ministries, departments, and agencies had cumulative infractions of N90 million.
According to the anti-graft agency boss, while 33 MDAs tendered explanations that N4.1 billion was transferred to sub-Treasury Single Account, N4.2b paid to individuals had no satisfactory explanations.
He stated, “We observed that transfers to sub-TSA were to prevent disbursement from being monitored. Nevertheless, we discovered payments to some federal colleges for school feeding in the sum of N2.67 billion during lockdown when the children are not in school, and some of the money ended up in personal accounts. We have commenced investigations into this finding.”
