The new chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has said that about ₦2.9 trillion meant for some government projects was diverted into personal use by contractors between 2018 and 2020.
Mr Olukoyede disclosed this on Wednesday when he appeared before the Senate.
“I did a survey between 2018 and 2020 on 50 entities in Nigeria, both human and corporate entities. I picked just one scheme, one specie of fraud, which is called contract and procurement fraud. I discovered that within the three years, Nigeria lost N2.9trn,” the EFCC chairman said.
Mr Olukoyede said the stolen funds during the period under review would have been used for useful government projects, if the former authorities of the anti-corruption agency had prevented it from being diverted.
“When I put my figures together, I discovered that. If the country had prevented the money from being stolen, it would have given us 1,000 kilometers of road, it would have built close to 200 standard tertiary institutions. It would have also educated about 6,000 children from primary to tertiary levels at N16 million per child.
“It would have also delivered more 20,000 units of three bedroom houses across the country. It would have given us a world-class teaching hospitals in each of the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory.
“This is where we are coming from, this is where we are. Where we are going, it depends on the decision the Senate would take this afternoon.”