The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Works, has launched a nationwide special monitoring exercise on hundreds of federal road projects across the country.
The operation, which quietly kicked off on November 14, is aimed at scrutinising how public funds are being spent on key infrastructure and ensuring that contractors deliver the roads for which they have been paid.
ICPC spokesperson, Akor Odey, disclosed in Abuja on Monday that the exercise will cover 760 federal road contracts with a combined value of more than ₦36 trillion.
According to him, joint teams made up of ICPC investigators, engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works and independent professionals drawn from professional bodies such as the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) have already been deployed to the field.
The teams are spread across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where they are carrying out physical inspections, verification of documents, and performance assessments on selected road projects.
Odey explained that the initiative is intended to serve several broad national goals, chief among them improving fiscal discipline in the execution of capital projects.
He said the monitoring would help the government ensure better value for money on road contracts, promote more sustainable and cost-effective infrastructure delivery, and block wastage of scarce public resources.
Another key objective, he noted, is to strengthen the integrity of public procurement by probing alleged irregularities and discouraging fraudulent practices in the award and management of contracts.
The exercise is also expected to tighten contractor accountability by closely tracking the pace and quality of work on sites, compelling completion of abandoned projects, and insisting on strict compliance with agreed specifications.
On the financial side, the ICPC teams will be checking for inflated contract sums and poorly executed or non-executed projects where funds have already been released. Where such infractions are established, Odey said the commission will push for the recovery of misused public funds.
He explained that the ongoing work involves detailed scrutiny of project locations, contract records, and deliverables as contained in the original terms of award.
At the end of the field phase, each state team is expected to submit a report, which will then be harmonised into a comprehensive national audit document on federal road projects.
The consolidated report will capture levels of compliance, highlight gaps and irregularities, and form the basis for targeted enforcement actions by relevant agencies against any individuals, companies or officials found culpable.
Describing the initiative as a proactive and system-driven strategy to protect Nigeria’s infrastructure investments, Odey said the scale of the operation reflects the seriousness with which the government views leakages in the public works sector.
He stressed that tracking 760 projects across the federation demonstrates the resolve of the ICPC and its partners to close loopholes, deepen transparency and ensure that road projects translate into real benefits for citizens instead of becoming conduits for corruption.
Odey reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to working with ministries, professional bodies and other stakeholders to improve the credibility of Nigeria’s public procurement and project implementation processes, especially in the critical area of road infrastructure.