The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered over N23billion pension funds ‘lost’ in 40 bank accounts in the country. Chairman of the commission, Mr Ekpo Nta, who yesterday made the disclosure at the maiden town hall meeting of the ICPC in Makurdi, the Benue capital, said the commission consolidated the accounts into four and was also able to recover N496million in accrued interests on one of the accounts.
Represented by member of the ICPC, Alhaji Isa Salami, he said: “The commission discovered that the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) was not remitting deductions from employees’ salaries to their respective Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) owing to inaccurate information.
“With the intervention of ICPC the sum of N34.5 billion has been remitted to 97, 842 employees’ RSAs.’’ Nta further revealed that while conducting systems review of personnel cost expenditure profile across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) over a period of four years, ICPC compelled the return of over N6 billion unspent balances into government treasury.
The ICPC chairman urged Nigerians to “support the renewed onslaught against the monster called corruption because it is by so doing that we can drive down the menace and eventually eliminate it from our country”.
In his speech, Govenor Samuel Ortom who was represented by his Deputy, Mr Benson Abounu, urged all political office holders in the country to strive to ensure that they never became guests of the ICPC after office.
Ortom regretted that the state was facing the most difficult times due to corruption and the squander of the state resources by the past government.
In their separate speeches, the Tor Tiv, Chief Alfred Torkuka and Ochi Idoma, Elias Obekpa pledged the support of the traditional rulers in the state in the fight against corruption in the country.
