By Ado Oyeyemi
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has recovered more than 400 tricycles allegedly diverted and kept undistributed by a federal lawmaker for about three years.
The items, reportedly purchased with public funds for constituency beneficiaries, were recovered through the commission’s ongoing Constituency and Executive Project Tracking Exercise, which is currently in its eighth phase.
Sources familiar with the investigation told Saturday Telegraph that the lawmaker, described as a senior politician from southern Nigeria, had allegedly kept the tricycles, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, for two to three years without distributing them to the intended beneficiaries.
The sources said the commission considered prosecuting the lawmaker and presenting the recovered items as evidence but eventually opted to distribute them to the intended beneficiaries to prevent prolonged legal proceedings from delaying their use.
According to one of the sources, the decision was taken with the approval of the ICPC chairman, after which a list of beneficiaries was obtained and the tricycles distributed individually.
The source explained that the commission had, in several instances, recovered tangible items procured through budgetary allocations but diverted or withheld from their intended recipients.
He said the commission sometimes prioritised distributing such items over prosecution, particularly where doing so would provide immediate economic relief to communities and help beneficiaries earn a living.
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Meanwhile, the ICPC is expected to meet with heads of government departments and agencies in December as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and accountability in public sector administration.
