“As at the time we went to press we had covered about 300 MDAs and the amount inflated was about N12 billion. As at today your Excellency, we have discovered additional N6b making a total of N18.624b restrained by ICPC.
The exercise is still ongoing but we can confidently report that culprit MDAs are mostly academic and health institutions.
For example, preliminary findings show the following –University of Benin Teaching Hospital N1.1billion; Federal Medical Centre, Bayelsa N915million; Nnamdi Azikwe University N907million; University of Jos N896million; University College Hospital Ibadan N701million; Usman Dan Fodio University N636million and University of Ibadan N558million.
These institutions and all those implicated will be given the opportunity to explain themselves however, while investigations are on to confirm any credible explanations they may have, we have alerted the Minister of Finance of our findings and appropriate steps are being taken to ensure that implicated MDAs will not be able to spend the excess built into their personnel budget. Let me note with regret sir, that in the 2017-2018 fiscal year the balances recorded for personnel were wrongfully utilised by MDAs for other purposes due to lack of pro-activity by late enforcement and related agencies. That sum amounted to N18.39b.’’
-Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, ICPC Chairman at the National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector in Abuja