Abuja (Nigeria) – Nigeria’s Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has stated that violators of the provisions of the Procurement Act risk five to 10 years imprisonment.
Magu, who lamented the widespread procurement fraud in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, further disclosed that civil servants found guilty under the Act might also face dismissal from service.
A Statement by the EFCC’s Head of media and publicity, Wilson Uwujaren noted that Magu made this known on Tuesday during the EFCC Anti-corruption Sensitization Programme organized for the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.
The statement explained that, Magu urged civil servants to familiarize themselves with the procurement Act, saying, EFCC would not spare anyone found wanting.
“The programme, which we are flagging-off this morning, is specially designed for employees of public and private institutions. It is aimed at bringing the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes to the doorstep of this Ministry,’’ he said.
He also expressed the readiness of the Commission to rid MDAs of all forms of fraudulent activities given the sudden rise in the number of petitions relating to the violations of the Public Procurement Act (2007) which had led to the setting up of a Procurement Fraud Unit within the Commission.
According to him, ‘‘Currently, EFCC working in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Account-General of the Federation and it has uncovered thirty-seven thousand, three hundred and ninety-five (37,395) ghost workers in the Federal civil service and that has cost the Federal Government close to One Billion Naira.’’
“Our investigations have so far revealed that the Federal Government has lost close to One Billion Naira to these ghost workers. The figure will definitely increase as we unravel more ghost workers buried deep in Federal Civil Service payrolls.’’
In his remark, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Engr. Abubakar G. Magaji, urged civil servants to collectively fight the monster of corruption in public service, adding that the fight could not be fought by one person.
According to him, “Corruption, as we know is generally responsible for the high level of illiteracy, poverty and low level of infrastructural provision in the states of the Federation and the nation in general.”
He also commended the EFCC for initiating the programme which, according to him, would serve as a guide to all the staff of the Ministry.
