The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has set up an independent team to monitor expenditures from the COVID-19 Special Intervention Funds.
Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, a spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
She noted that the ICPC set up the COVID-19 Funds Monitoring Team in the execution of its preventive mandate in Section 6 (b)-(d) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
According to the commission’s spokesperson, the team is to prevent possible financial abuses that may arise in the management of the funds.
She explained that the team would monitor the disbursement and utilisation of the funds, donations, and other receipts mobilised towards combating the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
Okoduwa added that the team would deploy the appropriate strategy to prevent incidences of corruption that may have a negative impact on the efforts of the government to deal effectively with the pandemic.
She stressed that the team’s work would complement the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 with regards to transparency and accountability in the management of the funds.
The ICPC spokesperson warned those involved in the management chain of the COVID-19 response to avoid actions that could result in any criminal investigation.
“While the Commission salutes all those in the frontline of battling the outbreak and everyone facilitating the national effort behind the scene, it hereby reiterates its earlier advisory to all actors in the management chain of the COVID-19 response to steer clear of all unethical and corrupt acts that could result in criminal investigation and consequences,” the statement said.
