ICPC decries corruption in constituency, executive projects in A'Ibom

 

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) team tracking constituency and executive projects has decried massive corruption in Akwa Ibom state. 

The ICPC team which is tracking 22 projects of total contract sum of N22billion in the state complained of poor delivery and duplication of projects in budgets.

The 7th phase of the exercise is carried out in conjunction with the National Institute of Quantity surveyors, a non governmental organization known as Budgit and the media. 

Leader of the team, Okuku Okam said a particular road project first awarded in 2010 has been repeated in successive budgets upto last year, adding that so much money has been expended on the road by the federal government.

Okam said, "We visited a road that has been awarded since 2010, it has been reoccurring and reoccurring in the budget and it has phases and phases. 

"Going by the amount of money expended on that road, by now we shouldn't be seeing potholes and some portions that do not have asphalt on it but on that road we were meeting potholes and gallops and dust.

"That's uncalled for. The amount of money the federal government has inputed on that road we should be sleeping while driving on that road but that is not the case".

He said that due to the dearth and unavailability of personnel some of the executive and constituency projects especially health centres in remote communities in the state have remained underutilized 

"Most of the projects we have seen have been done quite well like the project we visited at Ukana. The supply of twenty beds and furniture at one primary health centre, the borehole were sighted and the contractor tried to deliver his project.

"But again, availability of staff for the project is still an issue because it is a 20 bed male and female wards and delivery ward with a pharmacy, two consulting rooms, an OPD, the doctors office is massive for that local community.

"I will call it a massive project but as we went there we couldn't count five personnel.  Two were youth corps members, and a microbiologist. There is need for more doctors and pharmacists to be recruited so that they won't start coming to Uyo", he said.