Secretary to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Mr. Elvis Oglafa,? has identified funds shortage and lack of adequate manpower as the two major constraints hindering? the ICPC and other sister agencies in the fight against corruption.
He said the budgetary provisions made for the various agencies were not enough to actualize the onerous mandates of these institutions, let alone meet their overhead costs.
“The anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria are grossly underfunded to the extent that what is given to them is like a drop in an ocean,” he said.
Oglafa maintained, however, that ICPC and others had continued to forge ahead despite low allocations to “trace stolen funds, freeze assets, confiscate them and successfully repatriate such funds wherever they are in the world”.
In the area of manpower, the commission’s secretary noted that ICPC had “530 operatives in a nation of 150 million people and a per capita budget of 0.3 US cent s to’ fight corruption. “
According to him, “The total number of staff of both ICPC and EFCC is less than 3000 in a nation of about 150 million people”.
?Oglafa, while proffering a way forward, said all Nigerians must “fully commit to eradicating corruption through concrete action.”