There is yet no respite for the nation's teeming poor as the coordinating agency of the federal government's poverty eradication activities remains embroiled in a controversy over alleged misappropriation of funds writes Alexander Chiejina
As another year begins with high hopes of deepening growth, the worry of economic planners would be how to improve on the prevailing high levels of poverty in the country.
Sadly, it is estimated that about 70 percent of Nigerians live below poverty line of less than a dollar a day. This is according to recent reports from the United Nations Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank.
This estimate is believed to make up more than the combined population of Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone, Benin Republic, Liberia, Gambia, and Cote D'Ivoire which is about 67.3 million. It is on this premise that the federal government under the Olusegun Obasanjo's administration in 2001, in recognition of the economic woes of Nigerians, came up with an idea to eradicate poverty which according to analysts is caused by high levels of corruption that has dogged the nation since independence in 1960. The idea thus gave birth to the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP).
As the coordinating agency of the federal government for all poverty eradication activities in the country, NAPEP's key strategy is to ensure that strong winning partnerships are forged in the country so that well synergised and sustainable programmes could be implemented for the benefit of the people.
Other duties of the agency include assisting state and local governments develop direct anti-poverty programs that include micro-credit and micro-finance as well as building strategic public and private sector partnerships that should empower the disadvantaged.
However, while the people continue to wait for NAPEP to deliver on this mandate, the agency has of late remained embroiled in controversy, mostly bothering on corruption.
For instance, a deepening crisis in the management of the poverty alleviation instruments has so far attracted the attention of many government agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFCC), a Senate investigative committee and internal panels of inquiry that had all probed allegations of corruption in the agency. The issues had centred on mismanagement, especially in the alleged diversion of N417 million of NAPEP fund as well as setting up of parallel phoney companies to ape and appropriate the functions of the agency for the benefit of few corrupt officials.
Early 1999, some officials of the agency had appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts to account for how the N2.4 billion contract awarded by it for the supply of 5, 000 tricycles (KEKE NAPEP) and spare parts in 2003 was executed.
The Senate investigation followed an audit query by the Auditor-General of the Federation over disbursement of the agency's fund.
"From investigations, said the Senate report: "it is established that despite the sum of N1.850 billion provided between 2006 and 2008 on Monitoring and Evaluation, this aspect of the programmes was very weak and ineffective."
It added that most of the anomalies identified in various states of the federation were as a result of the nonchalant attitude of the Monitoring Unit of NAPEP at the National and State levels".
The Senate report further accused the Magnus Kpakol-led NAPEP leadership of funds misapplication, adding that some decisions taken affected Nigerians negatively. According to the report: "the committee established that relationships between NAPEP and Intercontinental Bank Plc and Oceanic International Bank Plc were skewed in favour of the banks.
"It is observed that the funds meant for Village Economic Development Solution (VEDS) and cope programmes- Five billion (N5bn) and two billion two hundred and sixty-five million (N2.265m) naira respectively were managed to the disadvantage of NAPEP and poor Nigerians. The banks in collaboration with NAPEP officials left the fund idle in various accounts with no interest paid by the banks. It also equally established a situation where one of the banks charged commission on turnover (COT) on NAPEP (Government) accounts against the directives of the central Bank of Nigeria."
It especially pointed out the lack of proper monitoring and evaluation despite the availability of N1.8billion provided between 2006 and 2008 for that purpose as well as poor management of funds by NAPEP.
The senate Committee also observed that NAPEP officials in their submission to the committee provided fake names and unverifiable addresses of beneficiaries, ostensibly to cover their tracks.
With poverty still endemic and with no clear programme for lifting the millions of Nigerians trapped in its bosom, it will be merely stating the obvious to say that those who conceived the idea would be hugely disappointed by the failure of the managers of the programme to interpret the poverty alleviation vision in a manner that would benefit the targeted poor.
A recent visit of an internal NAPEP panel to the offices of Autobahn Techniques and Keke Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (KORAN) which is the official distributor of the tricycles also revealed more sordid details of official corruption going on in the entire NAPEP establishment.
Besides discovering the alleged diversion of N417million belonging to the Agency the visitation panel also observed the clandestine setting up of a parallel company that hides under the cover of an authorised agency to assemble and deliver the tricycles to its own unofficial clients.
The panel said in their report: "Another observation of the team was that, this new company, Trimidan Limited was currently assembling KEKE tricycles, painted them in national colours and entitled it as KEKE NAPEP, yet NAPEP as a government agency was not aware of such assemblage…"
While many continue to point accusing fingers on NAPEP management for the failure of the poverty alleviation programme, the agency had dismissed the claims as 'unnecessary diversion.'
NAPEP's Publicity Secretary, Phil Oshodin in a statement which was recently made available to journalists stressed that NAPEP was on course towards realising its mandate.
Attributing the problems of the agency to the ploy of some of its stakeholders with 'self-serving interests', Oshodin warned that distracting the agency would keep the country and its poor in the middle of nowhere.
According to her "Recently, vituperative attacks have been directed at the NAPEP and its National Coordinator and Senior Special Assistant to the President, Magnus Kpakol, with the usual call for his removal."
Business Day gathered that Ofili Okonkwo, the chief executive officer of Autobahn Technique suppliers of the tricycle had tried to exonerate his firm from any blame in the problems of NAPEP claiming that Autobahn has fulfilled its side of the bargain, having supplied 4,000 units in the first two phases of the contract. He however blamed the failure to deliver all the tricycles on the third phase of the project on schedule to logistics problems and delayed payment on the part of NAPEP.
In disagreeing with this claim, Oshodin argued that the firm had no reason to default despite having been paid fully by NAPEP. She said: "Regrettably, this is happening even when Autobhan Techniques Limited, the defaulter in a contract that was signed on February 16, 2007 to supply 5, 000 units of three wheeler tricycles called "Keke NAPEP" to NAPEP for distribution to various states for a hefty sum of N2.4 billion has brazenly failed to deliver 1,310 units of the tricycles worth N589, 500, 000 till today despite full payment made and the long expiration of the last delivery date on August 21, 2008."
A National Assembly member who pleaded anonymity wants the government to immediately set up a panel to "review and advise it on the findings of the two available Reports by the Visitation Panel and the Senate Committee on National Planning and Poverty Eradication."
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