Eleme Local Government Council ,Rivers State in collaboration with the Commission organized a two day Anti -Corruption Sensitization Workshop tagged: Transparency and Accountability; Issues for Local Government Administration in Nigeria, recently. The collaborative workshop was coordinated by the ICPC, Akwa Ibom State office
The objectives of the workshop among others include:
Refreshing participants’ knowledge of the workings of the Local Government Councils in Nigeria,
Grounding participants in knowledge of laws establishing Anti –graft agencies, thus reducing the incidence of government functionaries falling victims of anti-graft laws,
Enhancing the operational and fiscal efficiency of the Local Government Councils in Nigeria, and
Imbuing participants with ethos of transparency, accountability and good governance.
Participants at the workshop included the Executive Chairman, Councilors, Supervisors, Political office holders, Directors, Staff of the Council as well as Extra-Ministerial departments. Media Executives, Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders and other stake holder were also in attendance.
The workshop featured lectures from relevant resource faculty as well as ICPC officials. At the end of the workshop, participants contributed robustly to the discussions at the interactive session. Some of the participants’ observations were:
that poverty at the local level was high ,
that some cultural practices tend to lead to corruption,
that transparency and accountability are critical factors in the fight against corruption.
At the close of the workshop, participants issued communique recommending that:
I. Code of Conduct Bureau law that prevents public officers from engaging in businesses other than farming should be amended,
II. Revenue Allocation Formula should be reviewed to give local government more funding,
- Local Government Councils should be given total autonomy so as to be able to perform their constitutional duties,
IV. There should be more sensitization workshops for operators of local Government system
At the end of the event, participants expressed gratitude to the Chairman of the Council while thanking the Commission for its support.