ICPC sensitises state assemblies on anti-graft war

TO take the nation’s anti-graft war further, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) gathered lawmakers in the North Eastern states to sensitise them on their roles against corruption and the need to promote integrity and accountability in government.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a three-day training/workshop for the zone in Abuja, Chairman of the commission, Ekpo Nta, said the ultimate victims and beneficiaries of corruption are in various communities and must be factored in if the menace must be completely dealt with.

The training, with the theme, “Transparency and Accountability: A veritable Legislative Tool in Service Delivery,” was organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) – an arm of the ICPC.

According to him, “the workshop would help the legislature in the various houses of assembly to interface and interact on ways of finding solutions to fighting corruption to a standstill.”

ACAN Provost, Prof. Sola Akinrinade, said the importance of working with the legislative arm of government at both federal and state levels in combating corruption could never be overstated.

He stressed that legislators, as direct representatives of the people, occupy a very sensitive position in a democratic setting. “It is in line with the above that the academy is collaborating with the Foundation for Transparency and Accountability (FTA) to organise this programme,” he said. “The academy is working with a few other organisations to build capacity to tackle corruption in different sectors. “The legislative arm of government is a veritable partner in the quest to tackle corruption in the country as some of its institutional practices are ready tools that could be deployed to fight corruption.”

Akinrinade explained that the society expects the anti-graft agencies to lead the crusade, while Nigerians must also accept that the agencies cannot fight and win the battle alone but essentially facilitates attitudinal change that would lead to a sustainable campaign.

This has informed the decision of ICPC to set up the anti-corruption academy to serve as the training arm of the organisation and provide training for public officers, public servants and the general public on good governance, accountability, integrity, ethics, transparency and all issues relating to corruption and corruption practices,” he said.

The Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures and Speaker of Borno House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, said noted that corruption has been described as a cancer which damaging effects are capable of killing a nation.

He added that it is the responsibility of everyone to stamp it out. Lawan said the war could be effectively waged through prevention, detection, sanction and restitution, stressing that preventive measures that make it difficult to engage in corrupt practices could best be carried out through rigorous sensitisation by relevant agencies.