The collaboration between the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) and various stakeholders has been crucial to the favourable outcome realised in the Constituency and Executive Project Tracking Initiative (CEPTI).
This was stated by Mr Jimoh Sulahiman, Deputy Director, Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Division (CEPTD) in the ICPC, while delivering a goodwill message at a policy dialogue on parliamentary succession and constituency projects held in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Jimoh noted that the sharing of information and data on abandoned or shoddily done projects between ICPC, BudgIT, and other stakeholders has been invaluable to the successes recorded with CEPTI.
He underlined the crucial role BudgIT has been playingas a member of the Project Steering Committee, which is saddled with the responsibility of selecting projects to be tracked nationwide.
The Deputy Director stated that the commitment of ICPC towards good governance necessitated the creation of CEPTI, whose major objectives include curbing corruption, guaranteeing value for money, recovery of public funds, and improving service delivery.
He noted that the recovery of assets worth billions of naira and the return of various equipment to communities for whom they were originally meant, underscored the importance of the initiative, adding that the tracking should not be exclusive to ICPC, but rather a collective responsibility for every well-meaning citizen of Nigeria.
According to Jimoh, “the fight against corruption cannot succeed without the full support, active participation and collaboration of key stakeholders and the society in general”.
He implored participants to pool efforts to monitor the implementation of government projects in their community to entrench transparency and accountability in all sectors of the country.
On his part, the founder of OrderPaper Advocacy, Mr Oke Epia, stated that the policy dialogue was convened to discuss the policy framework surrounding issues of succession and continuity in the legislative sphere and how it affects the execution of projects across constituencies.
He further stated that the dialogue was held to bring attention to the good work of certain members of the legislature who may be unfairly stereotyped due to the perceived inadequacies of their underperforming counterparts.
The policy dialogue, which was organised by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative in conjunction with Budgit Foundation was declared open by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, represented by hisSpecial Assistant Media, Mr. Usman Mudashiru.
The Deputy Senate President said the dialogue was crucial in helping the legislatures, CSOs, stakeholders and the electorate resolve the challenges that mitigate the seamless and appropriate execution of Zonal Intervention Projects in Nigeria.