A civil society group, Concerned Citizens, has called on former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, to publicly clear his name over allegations that he failed to act on a case of corruption involving two senior officials of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.
The group, through its Convener, Ibrahim Ilyas Kaltungo, said the minister allegedly ignored calls to act after NCC confirmed in 2021 that its officials were involved in the misappropriation of public funds.
Citing an investigation by an Abuja-based online newspaper published on April 27, 2021, the CSO noted that two weeks after, Pantami’s office was contacted to take action against the officials, “no decisive step was taken.”
According to the report, two senior staff of NCC were allegedly indicted for collecting allowances for trips they never made.
“One of the officials got N54 million as accruable allowances for official trips he never made while the other fraudulently raked in about N68 million,” the report stated. The total comes to N122 million.
The CSO said the officials were indicted by an investigative committee set up by the NCC Governing Board in 2020. The committee recommended that the two face a disciplinary panel and appropriate sanctions, and that they be prosecuted.
However, Concerned Citizens alleged that the NCC management has not implemented the recommendations.
The group noted that while deductions are reportedly being made from the officials’ emoluments in instalments, they are yet to face prosecution.
“NCC admitted its officials stole public funds, yet refused to ensure they are properly sanctioned as prescribed by anti-corruption laws,” Kaltungo said.
The Concerned Citizens further recalled that an anti-corruption group, Lygel Youths and Leadership Initiatives, LYLI, wrote to Prof. Pantami on April 14, 2021, seeking his intervention.
In the letter signed by its Director of Legal and Compliance, Lekan Oladapo, LYLI said it had earlier written to the NCC Executive Secretary on December 29, 2020, with the minister in copy, urging implementation of the committee’s recommendations.
“We have persistently urged the management of NCC to implement the recommendation of the Investigating Committee to impose necessary sanction and prosecute the culprits,” the letter read.
The CSO said despite acknowledging receipt of the letter on April 15, 2021, Pantami did not take public action.
Kaltingo added that “given his background in governance and anti-corruption advocacy, Nigerians deserve clarity from Prof. Pantami on what actions, if any, he took while in office regarding this NCC matter.”
The group is urging relevant anti-corruption agencies to revisit the case and ensure the indicted officials face the full weight of the law.
