ICPC clarifies chairman’s statement on alleged diversion of school feeding’s N2.7bn

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said on Tuesday the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq did not divert N2.67 billion earmarked for school feeding as alleged in some quarters.

The Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, said at a workshop on Monday that the commission had discovered the payment of N2.67billion meant for feeding of students in federal colleges to private accounts.

The ICPC spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, who made the clarification in a statement, said the commission chairman’s speech at the 2nd National Submit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector was misquoted in the reports.

She added that the reports erroneously implied that the ICPC chief was referring to Farouq in his presentation at the forum.

Ogugua urged the public to disregard reports alleging that the minister diverted the funds.

READ ALSO: N2.67bn meant for school feeding programme diverted to personal accounts – ICPC

The spokesperson said: “In the speech, Owasanoye said ‘we discovered payments to some federal colleges (secondary schools) for school feeding in the sum of N2.67b during the lockdown when the children were not in school.

“And some of the money ended up in personal accounts. We have commenced investigations into these findings.

“The commission wishes to clarify that the ‘school feeding’ referred to by the Chairman of ICPC was the feeding of boarding students in Federal Government Colleges who were all at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“This is not the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme being managed by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.”

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