ICPC, NGO collaborate to track projects in Kaduna

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Community Monitors, an NGO, have agreed to work together to track constituency and public projects and procurement in the 23 LGAs of Kaduna State.

The agreement was reached at a one-day meeting with Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), School-based Management Committee (SBMC) and community monitors from Kaura, Soba and Chikun LGAs organised by the Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) in Kaduna.

Speaking at the meeting, representative of the ICPC, Buhari Bello, said though the commission has limited offices and manpower across the country, civil society organisations and community leaders have been a source of strength in tracking public spending over the years.

“It became necessary that the community monitors serve as watchdog on constituency projects that were either abandoned or poorly executed. This is because we cannot be everywhere but with civil society organisations and community monitors reporting, what they see, we will be able to do more in our efforts to ensure consistency and other public projects are not just executed but executed according to specifications.”

A community monitor from Kaura, Audu Avong, commended the organisation for the various engagements of community monitors which, he said, has helped in ensuring that projects were up to standard.

“We have an abandoned project, a building of 12 classrooms at LEA Agban Model in Kagarko, Kaura LGA of the state. The project started in August 2018 and was abandoned the same year,’’ he said.

The contractor returned to site in January 2021 but nothing has happened in the last two months, he also stated.

The Programme Officer, LANW, Magdalene Ilenwabor said, “We brought these community monitors from the three local government areas to have an interface with the officials in the MDAs through which these public projects or procurement are done in the interest of the citizens.”