ICPC urges communities to speak up on abandoned projects

he Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday urged communities in Osun to report to it, any abandoned constituency project undertaken by lawmakers in their areas.

The ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, made the call in Osogbo at a town hall meeting tagged “My Constituency, My Project,” organised by the commission in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Owasanoye, represented by the Commissioner in charge of Osun, Ondo , and Ekiti States , Mr Shuaibu Alaro, urged the communities to alert government on poorly executed projects in their constituencies.

He said that they should do that so that their representatives could be held accountable.

“Constituency projects are not donations by the legislature representing you; they (projects) are the rights of the communities from the government.

“Your representatives in the legislature who select constituency projects do so because they are closer to you and it is expected that they understand your needs,’’ he said.

The ICPC boss said that the commission would continue to track constituency projects to ensure they were developed and implemented.

“We will not relent in ensuring that projects are developed and implemented which is an evidence that government means well for the people.

“It is through these projects that government touches the lives of citizens.

“Community must change their perception by learning to protect, monitor and report on projects within their confine to avoid fraudulent or unwholesome acts regarding projects,’’ he said.

The Director-General of NOA, Mr Garba Abari, said the main focus of the agency, especially in 2020, was to see how government could meet the desire of the people.

Abar, represented by Mrs Yomi Oaseyinde, NOA Director in Osun, said that community ownership of projects would ensure that government was alerted when there was poor execution.

“This is the basis for the new partnership between the agency and the ICPC,’’ he said.

Abari added that the template under the partnership was for the people to own the entire process from conception to execution.