The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, on Wednesday said that about 70 percent of corrupt practices in Nigeria could be traced to contracts and procurements, as Nigeria has lost about N2.9 trillion within 3 years to Contract And Procurement fraud.
He also noted that about 50 percent of money released for capital projects are always diverted and converted into dollars for personal use.
The Chairman made this revelation when the President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), QS Kene Nzekwe visited the EFCC office calling for its collaboration to tackle fraud in the construction and infrastructural sectors.
Olukoyede tasked NIQS to look inwards and flush out bad eggs in its fold, maintaining that self-cleaning is the best modality of growth and development.
He said: “My principle has always been for you to start with yourself, talk to your people first, when you sanitise your house, you will be able to correct other people. That’s why I started with my staff first when I came in, I told them to declare their assets. Because whoever comes to equity must come with clean hands.
He further assured that the EFCC will revisit the MOU by constituting a committee to look into it on how it can be better implemented to suit the current dispensation.
Meanwhile, elaborating on the fraud taking place in the construction sector, Nzekwe highlighted that Nigeria’s significant budgetary resources towards infrastructures are being marred by pervasive spectra of corruption, depriving citizens of basic services that they rightly deserve.
He said: “The litany of allegations surrounding contract inflation and embezzlement of funds meant for infrastructure projects paints a damning portrait of systemic corruption.”
He pointed at the findings of the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (COST), which estimated that about $5trillion could be lost annually to corruption in the construction sector by 2030.
“COST’s estimation that up to US$5trillion could be lost annually to corruption in construction worldwide by 2030 underscores the gravity of the situation, revealing a landscape rife with instances of contract inflation, embezzlement and the abandonment of vital projects”, he said.
