The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered a bank account operated by a foreign national allegedly used to collect payments from Nigerians seeking to obtain a questionable six-week bachelor’s degree abroad.

The discovery was announced by ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, during a stakeholders’ advocacy event on asset tracing, recovery and management held Tuesday in Abuja.

The event was organised by the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity (CeFTPI), with support from the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

“Within some weeks, we were able to discover that a foreigner opened an account in Nigeria while Nigerian students were paying money into the account to obtain that six-week degree,” Aliyu revealed.

“We were able to track the account and obtain a civil forfeiture order. We have been trying to ensure that the culprits are brought to book, especially those that are beyond our shores.”

He called for greater synergy among anti-corruption agencies to ensure that perpetrators of financial crimes are not allowed to enjoy the proceeds of their actions.

Also at the event, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Dr. Abdullahi Bello, disclosed that an ongoing audit of over 10,000 public servants’ asset declarations has revealed that about 20 percent of them are false.

On a broader continental scale, the Director-General of GIABA, Edwin Harris, lamented the growing trend of illicit financial flows out of Africa.

Citing a report by former South African President Thabo Mbeki under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Harris noted that while $50 billion was previously estimated to be lost annually, the current figure now stands between $88 billion and $94 billion.

CeFTPI Executive Director, Umar Yakubu, said the event brought together key stakeholders from anti-graft institutions, civil society, the judiciary and international partners to develop innovative mechanisms for transparency, citizen engagement and accountability in asset recovery efforts.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has earmarked 19 days for projects commissioning in Abuja, as part of activities marking the second year anniversary of President Bola Tinubu.

This was part of the decisions taken at the 14th executive committee meeting of the FCT Administration which was chaired by Wike in Abuja on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

In a statement issued by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the commissioning of projects will commence on June 10, 2025, and will go on for 19 days.

Some of the projects scheduled for commissioning are the newly renovated Abuja International Conference Centre, Bus Terminals in Kugbo and Mabushi as well as Apo-Wassa road.

Others are N16 interchange and roads to connect Maitama through Katampe to Jahi, Inner Nothern Expressway from Ring Road 3 (Idu to Kubwa Road), CN8 from N5 (Obafemi Awolowo Way) to Court of Appeal, N20 Flyover Onnex Kubwa Road, and Life Junction to Ring Road III.

Also to be commissioned are Kabulsa-Takushara Access Road, Kabusa-Ketti Access Road, access road in Giri District, 15km Road from A2 Junction Abuja-Lokoja Road to Pai in Kwali Area Council, as well as the Ushafa, War College, and Army Checkpoint roads in Bwari Area Council.

Olayinka further disclosed that the FCT Executive Committee approved the award of contract for the upgrade of streetlights on Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway (Ring Road I).

The Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Richard Dauda, said the project was among the seven approved memos submitted by the FCDA for consideration.

Dauda explained that the project involves the upgrade of the obsolete streetlights on the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway, a 14-kilometre 10-lane expressway from Maitama to Gudu.He said the upgrade became necessary following available new technology in street lightning.

He added that a hybrid street lighting system would be deployed to brighten the road and make it more secure and more motorable in the night.

Aliko Dangote, the Chairman Aliko Dangote Foundation and President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, has been named in the inaugural 2025 TIME100 Philanthropy list, which recognises the 100 most influential leaders shaping the future of philanthropy across the world.

Dangote is the only Nigerian on this distinguished list.

The prestigious list, published by TIME Magazine on Tuesday, features Aliko Dangote, whose Foundation spends an average of $35 million a year on programmes across Africa, alongside other global figures in charitable work, such as Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates, all of whom are recognised as Titans.

A total of 100 influential individuals from 28 countries have been honoured for their philanthropic efforts in four categories: Titans, Leaders, Trailblazers, and Innovators, with Dangote emerging as one of the 23 Titans.

TIME highlighted Dangote’s remarkable rise to wealth, having built a fortune of $23.9 billion through ventures in cement, agriculture, and oil refining in Nigeria.

However, his philanthropic efforts are equally noteworthy.

My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back, which inspired my philanthropy 30 years ago.

In 2014, he endowed the Aliko Dangote Foundation with $1.25 billion, with the aim of giving back to the continent that played such a key role in his success.

The foundation spends on average of $35 million each year on various initiatives across Nigeria and Africa. “Investing in nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment is our contribution to setting Africans up for success” – Dangote remarked, reflecting the foundation’s core priorities.

Among the foundation’s ongoing efforts is a $100 million multi-year initiative to combat severe childhood malnutrition.

Furthermore, an earlier vaccine programme in Nigeria, developed in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others, contributed to the World Health Organisation’s 2020 declaration that polio had been eradicated from Africa, Nigeria being the most populous country in Africa and the last country to eradicate the disease. Education is another area where Dangote is making a significant impact.

He recently announced a $10 million donation to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, based in Kano State.

The conglomerate has provided a wealth of infrastructural support to the country’s tertiary institutions.In 2019, the Federal Government revealed that the N1.2 billion hostel donated by the Aliko Dangote Foundation to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was the largest donation ever made by an individual to a university in Nigeria’s history at that time.

As a member of The Global Business Coalition for Education, the Aliko Dangote Foundation has also focused on early childhood education.

Through the Mu Shuka Iri (Let’s Plant a Seed) programme, local women – affectionately known as “Aunties” – are trained in Montessori-style education to become community educators in Kano.

The foundation’s investments in education include providing vocational training and providing scholarships at the secondary and tertiary levels, in addition to offering annual fellowships through the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders programme.

“We need to create the next generation of African leaders,” Dangote says, underscoring his commitment to long-term societal change.

“My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back, which inspired my philanthropy 30 years ago.

I trust my three daughters will continue this legacy, just as they will continue to grow our business and impact. I want to be known not just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist.”