ICPC accuses federal lawmakers of converting public property to personal use

Some federal lawmakers have allegedly been found to use “vague description of constituency projects” to convert public property to private use. It was also gathered that some of the lawmakers award contracts of their sponsored constituency projects to companies to which they have substantial or direct interest.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission made this disclosure in its reports titled: “Constituency and Executive Projects Tracking Exercise Phase 2 and 3”.

The commission said soft projects of empowerment and supplies of vehicles were often deliberately vaguely described in the Appropriation Acts such that it did not specify beneficiaries or the intended usage.

The third phase of the ICPC project tracking monitored zonal intervention and executive projects valued at over N114.1billion between 2019 and 2020.

Similarly, the second phase covered from 2015 to 2020 appropriations.

The ICPC said investigations showed that some legislators sited projects they sponsored on their personal property, which technically vested legal possession and ownership of such projects in them.

Under “Misappropriation and criminal conversation of public property”, the commission provided examples of the infractions by some federal lawmakers.