13th October, 2010
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Miscellaneous Offences Commission (ICPC) has demanded that political parties submit their anti-graft strategies for scrutiny.
ICPC Chairman, Emmanuel Ayoola, made the call at the 2010 North East Edition of the National Conference of Anti-Corruption Committees and Heads of Anti-Corruption Units in Government Establishments in Gombe.
The chairman, who was represented by a commissioner at ICPC, Amb. Uriah Angulu, urged the parties to be committed to the issue of integrity and credibility in the country’s electoral process.
“The Commission is determined to provide a platform for all serious candidates to submit themselves to dialogue with the public on the issue of corruption.
“More than ever before, Nigerians should be determined to ensure that no politician is allowed to deceive and mislead them,†he said.
Ayoola said adequate knowledge about corruption and the position of the law was the first step to fighting the malaise.
“If people are to shun corruption, they must be conversant with what the law says about corruption,†he said.
The Chairman of Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption, Sen. Sola Akinyede, noted that corruption still thrived in spite of the zeal with which the government had been fighting it.
He said the negative effects of corruption were apparent in the country’s epileptic power supply, high rate of unemployment, poor state of roads, and general degradation of public utilities and services.
The lawmaker said that the issue of electoral malpractice also needed to be addressed squarely.
Rep. George Daika, a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values, said corrupt practices had reduced with the establishment of anti-graft agencies.
He said, however, that the fight against corruption was far from being successful as some high profile persons suspected of fraudulent acts involving lots of money had yet to be jailed.
Declaring the conference open, the deputy governor of Gombe, Dr. John Yoriyo, stressed the need for people to imbibe the principle of self-discipline.
He urged the participants to come up with a lasting solution to the problem of corruption in the country.