FG adopts five-year strategic plan against graft

• Why ridding Nigeria of corruption could be arduous, by ICPC
• Senator cautions against abuse of whistleblower policy

The Federal Government has resolved to adopt a five-year strategic plan to institutionalise the fight against corruption.

Recovery of proceeds of corruption is one of the aims of the five-year plan. Others are: prevention of corruption, public engagement, campaign for ethical reorientation, enforcement and sanctions.

The Attorney -General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), gave this hint yesterday in Abuja during the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) validation meeting.

According to Malami, “This five year strategy will provide a framework to improve the anti-corruption regime in Nigeria by focusing on key areas of policy improvement, institution strengthening and technical support in the public and private sectors as well as society as a whole.

Also, member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Femi Odekunle said that the Buhari administration could be credited with definitive achievements from direct and consequential efforts in the fight against corruption unlike previously insincere or half-hearted alleged fights against corruption.

Meanwhile, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has said the fight against corruption will remain a tedious task if the systems continue to encourage and shield crime.

ICPC also blamed the erosion of moral values in the society for the worrisome and endemic nature of corruption in the country.

Rivers State ICPC commissioner, Alex Chukwurah, stated this at a workshop on “Together against Corruption: Improving Public Service Delivery in Rivers State,” organised by Arnold Obomanu and the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress in Port Harcourt yesterday.

Chukwurah stressed that corruption, which a lot of people have often erroneously limited to specifically to looting of money alone, has become endemic in the country because of the decadence in the value system.

The chairman of the event, former Nigeria Bar Association President, Onueze Okocha (SAN) said Nigeria needs to clearly establish what graft is because it goes beyond stealing public funds.

In a similar vein, Senator Magnus Abbe (APC, Rivers State) has said that the whistle blower policy was in danger of being abused by persons making false claims.

The lawmaker noted that the policy, which was formulated to give a boost to the crusade against corruption, should be protected from such abuses.

The lawmaker was reacting to a motion brought before the Senate yesterday by Senator Thompson Sekibo (PDP, Rivers State) seeking Senate’s intervention in the probe of the Ikoyi cash haul, which he claimed belonged to Rivers State.”