Step on toes to eliminate corruption, ICAN tells Buhari

THE Institutes of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to do everything possible to eliminate corruption in the country.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 51st President of the institute, the newly elected President, Otunba Samuel Deru said Buhari must re-direct and revamp the nation’s ailing economy for sustained prosperity by taking a stringent approach towards eliminating corruption.

“We are deeply encouraged by the resolve of the newly inaugurated Buhari-led government to confront, degrade and weaken, if not totally eliminate corruption. Pursuant to this, we urge the government to step on toes, if that is what is required,” Deru stressed.

He stated further: “We invite the government to deliberately take aggressive steps to diversify our economy in order to insulate it from dynamic shocks associated with fluctuation in global oil prices. The citizenry must be empowered to produce and flourish.

He promised that the Institute would support the government with professional knowledge and skills in the fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing.

“Indeed, as the conscience of the nation, we will be at the forefront of the crusade to curb sharp practices in the society, by promoting compliance to global best practices and proactively raising the bar of accountability and transparency in governance”, Deru stressed.

He disclosed that the cleansing process would begin from the accounting profession, saying that the body would not spare its rod in the desire to sanitise the profession, “thus, any member who breaches any provision of our ethical code will be dealt with according to the Institute’s enabling Act,” Deru stated.