NEDC: Anti-corruption Group Tackles CSOs for Raising False Alarm on Corruption in Govt Agency
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The Coalition for Transparency in Nigeria (CTN) has condemned the People Advocacy for Transparency and Accountability (PATAI) and Al-Mushaid Initiative for Transparency and Accountability (AITA) for raising a false alarm on alleged corrupt practices within the leadership of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
PATAI and AITA in the past week accused the leadership of the NEDC of mismanaging N146.19 billion and threatened to report the commission to the anti-graft agency if it did not respond to the allegations by Wednesday, March 15.
Source: UGC
However, in press conference on Sunday, March 12, CTN dismissed the allegations of the CSOs as "false and baseless".
The executive director of the CTN, Cecilia Ikechukwu, said the anti-corruption coalition decided on conducting routine due diligence before commending the two organizations for uncovering the allegations.
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Ikechukwu explained that the things that the coalition found out about "the entire matter" are, however, "saddening."
She also lamented that it has now become clear that hustlers are hijacking the noble resolve of citizens to hold the government accountable.
She said:
"The first absurdity we noticed is that the two groups gave the NEDC leadership until March 15, 2023, to answer to their funny posers failing which they will report to the EFCC.
"The anti-graft agencies and other law enforcement agencies conduct media scanning and the press briefing held by PATAI and AITA was already enough ground for the EFCC to step in.
"The fact that it has not stepped in meant that these two so-called “transparency NGOs” are merely engaged in the use of fictitious petitions, campaigns of calumny, and blackmail to intimidate the leadership of NEDC."
According to Ikechukwu, a second absurdity is that the groups accused the NEDC leadership of mismanaging the sum of N146.19 billion being budgetary provisions made for it.
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She noted that it is absurd that these CSOs are not able to articulately pin down the amount within the context of budgetary and implementation processes.
Ikechukwu inquired:
"Was the amount a fraction of a larger budget? What is the timespan the money was meant to cover, one year, two years, or three years?
"Is the N146.19 billion budget for an entire year? How did the NEDC meet its overhead, recurrent, and personnel costs if the entire N146.19 billion was misappropriated as being claimed?"
Among many other conditions, CTN maintained that NEDC stands out as one of the most transparent agencies in the country.
Ikechukwu said the CTN is tempted to rate it as the most transparent in the country until such a time that someone can bring up empirical evidence to prove that another agency has surpassed that record.
She further called on the leadership of NEDC to disregard the criminal ultimatum handed in by PATAI and AITA to focus on their mandate of returning the northeast to the commercial powerhouse it was before terrorism disrupted lives there.
While advising the public to disregard the two organizations, the coalition called on PATAI and AITA to retrace their steps and stop their resort to blackmail.
FG, NEDC tackling poverty, illiteracy, ecological challenges in Northeast, stakeholders reveal
Stakeholders in the northeast had said that efforts to tackle poverty, illiteracy and ecological challenges in the region are ongoing.
The stakeholders commended the efforts of the federal government in the region through the North East Development Commission.
They, however, called on the government and foreign bodies to continue to show support for the region's rebuilding efforts.
Flooding: NEDC provides relief materials to victims in affected states
Recall that the Coalition of Northern Human Rights Group (CNHRG) recently applauded the prompt responses of the federal government through the NEDC and its managing director, Mohammed Alkali to the rampaging flooding in the region.
The group made this known in its assessment report on the impact of the natural disaster in the north and the efforts of intervention agencies.
According to the report signed by the secretary-general, Ibrahim Ahmed, the rights group said NEDC donated relief materials to flood victims to cushion the effect on the affected communities.
Source: Legit.ng
