The acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has assured the World Food Programme, WFP, of the much-sought support to ensure transparency in the administration of relief to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North Eastern part of Nigeria.
Magu, who acknowledge evidence of corruption at the IDPs camp in Maiduguri, said the Commission would dedicate a Desk for the WFP in order to facilitate unhindered administration of its intervention efforts..
Earlier, Roberto DaSilva, Assistant Executive Director, WFP, had urged the EFCC to ensure transparency, credibility and accountability in the disbursement of funds and purchase of food items to the North-East.
Silva, who led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Magu in Abuja, on Friday, said: “The Programme focuses on food assistance with humanitarian and social objectives.
“We were in the process of identifying where the World Food Programme presence could support Nigeria, but the situation in the North-East of Nigeria changed our plans. However, we are back now.”
He added that the Programmes was targeted at over 700,000 individuals, including 20, 000 children.
According to him, “As a result of the commitment we have undertaken, we are introducing a series of food assistance, one of them is where a financial transfer takes place to enable them buy food or where we admit any need for assistance in purchase of food.
“We will be disbursing millions of dollars to Nigeria, half of it will be a cash transfer and the other half is to purchase food items for the two states: Borno and Yobe. It is on this note that we have reached out to the EFCC.”
Silva, who stated that the collaboration between the EFCC and WFP would ensure the prevention of fraud, added that “there is a need to scale-up and maintain integrity so that more work can be achieved.
“Our expectation is that we establish a Memorandum of Understanding that clearly outlines how we can cooperate together to ensure integrity and deter fraud from happening.”
He disclosed that offices had been set up in Abuja and Maiduguri ‘‘with hopes of bringing in 80 to 100 professionals from Nigeria to run the offices in Borno and Yobe.’’
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