The Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the training and research arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has held a 3-day induction training workshop for the new officials of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of Port-Harcourt Refinery Company Limited (PHRC).
The training which took place at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja recently was organized to furnish the ACTU members with knowledge on how to effectively perform their duties.
Speaking during the workshop, the ICPC Chairman Mr. Ekpo Nta, spoke about the benefits that the participants would gain from the workshop. He said: “I have no doubt that at the end of the training workshop; you will be better equipped to contribute your quota to the anti-corruption campaign in your organisation by being able to develop an integrity plan for your organisation and to properly manage whistle blowers.”
In his own address, ACAN Provost, Prof. Sola Akinrinade, said the objective of the training was to help enhance ACTU members’ skills for monitoring Compliance system to enable them effectively check corruption and unethical conduct in the organisation.
Prof. Akinrinade who also spoke on: Integrity Imperative in Public and Private Organisation, said ‘’…there must be synergy between what you think, say and do as ACTU officials to effect change in unethical behavior in the workplace’’.
Furthermore, he said that the culture of doing what is right under less supervision, which is integrity and a common virtue in corporate ethical codes should be imbibed as a giant step towards curbing the menace of corruption in an organisation.
“Building the culture of integrity is a long term process which could be difficult at the beginning but has great effects and rewards afterwards. The starting point therefore is a leadership commitment to enthrone sanity in the operations of the organisation”, he added.
Also speaking on the topic: Becoming an Effective Whistle-Blower, Mr. Akeem Lawal, fsi, Head, Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the Commission, enlightened the participants on managing whistle-blowing by staff of the organisation in the course of their duty as ACTU members.
In his words, “As ACTU members, whistle blowing mechanism should be used and encouraged in the organization as a means of exposing illegal and unethical practices that serve as breeding ground for corruption.
More so, whistle blowers who are courageous enough to expose corrupt practices should be protected and rewarded against victimization as enshrined in the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information Act (FOI)’’.