The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has pledged to investigate the alleged theft of 13,350 diapers meant for antenatal care at a Primary Health Centre in Sambawa community, Kebbi State.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the commission’s chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu, made this promise at a conference in Abuja, themed “Engendering Corruption-Free Primary Health Care Delivery For All.”
The ICPC has already identified two staff members of the healthcare centre as suspects and is working to uncover the full extent of the criminal conduct.
“Recently, the Sambawa community in Kebbi State sent a petition to us regarding missing antenatal care items for pregnant women and newborn babies donated to a healthcare facility.
“Our preliminary investigation indicated that the missing diapers allocated to Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre are 13,350 pieces, while the investigation by Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Agency puts it at 3,466,” Adamu said.
He said that two staff members of the Sambawa Primary Healthcare Centre, a male and a female, were indicted for the missing items, saying that the commission intends to unravel the criminal conduct and bring the culprits to book.
He added that communities and civil society organisations were becoming more interested in tackling corruption in the health sector.
The chairman said the commission was putting in place measures to ensure corruption-free primary healthcare delivery in the country.
Adamu noted that the commission organised the conference, which was part of the efforts being made to enlist and foster public support in combating corruption in the nation.
According to him, the conference is specifically organised to stimulate discussions that will help improve service delivery devoid of windows for corrupt tendencies in the health sector.
“This has become necessary considering the sector’s critical nature and its role in ensuring a healthy society at all levels.
“The Commission’s choice of Primary Health Care in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the pilot for the nationwide conversation is to create a comprehensive template that can be replicated in all the six geopolitical zones of the federation.
“Participants were carefully drawn from community healthcare stakeholders to have a holistic and collaborative approach to improving the effectiveness of primary healthcare service delivery,” he said.
He pointed out that the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to be signed at the conference would provide opportunities for the cross-fertilisation of anti-corruption ideas and harnessing available resources to address issues that hinder people from enjoying a corruption-free healthcare system in Nigeria.
