The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Kogi State office, has commenced tracking of 72 projects across the state’s three senatorial districts, valued at N16,304,874,787.43.
The commission said it will recover funds for projects that were not executed and recommend immediate investigation where work involved criminality.
Mr. David Oluwole Wale, an Assistant Commissioner who led a two‑person team, vowed that every project tracked must meet the specifications in the bill of quantities. Where quality is compromised, contractors will be required to upgrade work to the required standard.
“Projects across power, water, road, housing and empowerment programmes have been penciled in for this exercise. While empowerment programmes seem to be the most difficult to track, the team is doing its utmost to verify beneficiaries and confirm who was actually empowered,” he said.
The exercise began in Lokoja, the state capital, on Tuesday with tracking of the N6.2 billion new federal secretariat complex (awarded in 2023) and the N6.4 billion inland river port.
“The objective of the team is to ensure communities and constituents receive the true value of projects cited in their localities. Where value is compromised and contractors deliver substandard work, such contractors will be compelled to return to site to do the job according to standard,” Mr. Wale stated.
He explained that the tracking exercise is in line with the ICPC’s mandate to ensure all contracts awarded by the federal government are executed according to specification, and he urged community members to take ownership of projects in their areas.
Mr. Ogunseemi Bayo, a quantity surveyor, is assisting the team in assessing the cost and quality of work at each site visited.
The tracking exercise will cover all 21 local government areas of the state.
