Members of staff of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Abuja, have been urged to adhere to due process in discharging their duties for effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and transparency.
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, gave the advice at a 2-day sensitization programme on “Promoting a Culture of Transparency and Accountability in the Public Service” for the officers of the Ministry organized by its Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU), recently in Abuja.
Speaking through his representative, Mr. Akeem Lawal, Head of Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Department (CMED), Nta said: “To achieve the right results, transparency and accountability must be followed in Ministries Departments and Agencies of government”.
On her part, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Jamila Suara, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Budget and Planning of the Ministry, Nkem Anwanu, stated that “…for the sake of nation rebuilding, all hands must be on deck to weed the society of ills and corrupt tendencies that constitute a bottle-neck”.
Mrs. Suara, urged the participants to pay attention to the lectures which she believed will impact positively on the attitude of officers for quality service delivery and good conduct.
A paper titled “Promoting a Culture of Transparency and Accountability in the Public Service” was presented by Mr. Akeem Lawal, in which he said “…the quest to enthrone accountability and transparency in both public and private sectors have been the reason for reforms in government to combat abuse of office and corruption”. He listed some of the reforms to include: Civil Service Reforms, E-payment, IPPIS, TSA, FOIA, etc.
Mr. Lawal added that “…the importance of accountability and transparency stems from the imperative to make public officers responsible in the conduct of their duties, subject them to scrutiny thereby discouraging mismanagement and corruption”.