Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, Mr. Nta Ekpo, disclosed on Thursday that the anti-graft agency was currently prosecuting over 400 corruption-related cases across the various courts in the country.
Nta stated this when he appeared before the Senate committee on Anti Corruption and Financial Crimes, headed by Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) at the Senate wing of the National Assembly.
He noted that the ICPC had carried out some reforms in recent times but blamed the inability of anti-corruption agency to successfully perform its functions on non-availability of adequate budgetary provisions by previous governments.
He explained that while 90 percent of the budget meant for the commission was spent annually on prosecution, only 10 percent was expended on prevention.
He described the arrangement as unproductive and not in tandem with the recommendations of the United Nations.
He said ordinarily, 60 per cent ought to have been spent on prevention, as against the current practice.
Ekpo said, “Nineteen percent of the time, we talk about corruption. No one spends time to talk about anti-corruption. There is a clear distinction between corruption and other financial crimes.
“When we were sworn in, I was being abused on a daily basis on the pages of national newspapers because of my approach to fighting corruption.
“Our budgetary provisions every year has always been on fighting corruption. Only 10 percent is budgeted for prevention. Corruption is a transnational issue. It goes beyond Nigeria.
“People did not know that we had about 400 cases going on at the beginning of the year. We had to place an advertisement for Nigerians to know what is happening. ICPC has been in the forefront of educating Nigerians on anti-corruption.”
Nta stated this when he appeared before the Senate committee on Anti Corruption and Financial Crimes, headed by Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) at the Senate wing of the National Assembly.
He noted that the ICPC had carried out some reforms in recent times but blamed the inability of anti-corruption agency to successfully perform its functions on non-availability of adequate budgetary provisions by previous governments.
He explained that while 90 percent of the budget meant for the commission was spent annually on prosecution, only 10 percent was expended on prevention.
He described the arrangement as unproductive and not in tandem with the recommendations of the United Nations.
He said ordinarily, 60 per cent ought to have been spent on prevention, as against the current practice.
Ekpo said, “Nineteen percent of the time, we talk about corruption. No one spends time to talk about anti-corruption. There is a clear distinction between corruption and other financial crimes.
“When we were sworn in, I was being abused on a daily basis on the pages of national newspapers because of my approach to fighting corruption.
“Our budgetary provisions every year has always been on fighting corruption. Only 10 percent is budgeted for prevention. Corruption is a transnational issue. It goes beyond Nigeria.
“People did not know that we had about 400 cases going on at the beginning of the year. We had to place an advertisement for Nigerians to know what is happening. ICPC has been in the forefront of educating Nigerians on anti-corruption.”
Comments
Post a Comment