The Enugu Zonal Office of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recently organised an in-house training for both old and new staff of the office.
The training aimed at building confidence in public speaking, presentation, and effective job performance, was initiated by the acting Head Miss. Nwozor Chinwe Principal Superintendent, of Public Enlightenment Department.
It lasted about three weeks and was interactive in nature and featured objective criticism, questions and answer session and contributions from the audience on each of the lectures presented.
In her address, Miss Nwozor stated that, the lecture was organised to prepare the new staff and also strengthen the old ones on the knowledge of the operations and procedures of the ICPC.
She urged staff to avail themselves of the opportunity to be equipped for the job they have been employed to do and to be of good conduct in all their endeavours. She emphasised that, whatever any staff does would certainly affect his/her advancement in the commission.
The Acting Head asked general questions relating to ICPC at the beginning of every lecture to test the staff knowledge of ICPC activities and also guide them on how to answer such questions.
All members of staff were given opportunity to research on different topics bordering on their departments and then do the presentation, so as to master the skill of writing and public presentation.
Mr.Ikeoha Chukwuma of the Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Department (CMED) presented the first paper titled ‘The Role of ACTU in the Local Government Area”.
He disclosed the likely areas where corrupt practices could take place in the Local Government Council, the role of the Anti-corruption Transparency Unit (ACTU) in the fight against corruption, ICPC mandate, the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Speaking on Appraisal of Official Letters, Petitions and Proposals in ICPC, the Assistant Chief Superintendent Officer of the Education Department, Mr Ezeh Ansel N. emphasized that the first step in appraising a letter was to read the correspondence to determine the exact subject matter which could be a petition, an invitation, a proposal or information to the Commission.
He also spoke on the importance of appraisal which helps the superior officer to have an in-depth knowledge of such correspondence and the action to take.
Mr Larro Sulyman Muhammed of the Education Department spoke on The Role of ICPC in Cubing Examination Malpractices”. While Assistant Superintendent Officer in the Public Enlightenment department, Mr Ozi Agualize Eyimeke talked on “Fighting the Menace of Corruption: The Role of the Youth”. In addition, Mr Sikpi Nathaniel Diton and Obi Stephen of Investigation Department jointly presented a paper on “Investigation”.
They stated that the provision of Section 6 (a) of the ICPC Act 2000, empowers the Commission to investigate corrupt practices and other related offences in the country and explained the powers, qualities of an investigator and the challenges they face in the discharge of their duties.
Similarly, Miss. Ogom Onwukusi and Miss Ayanwu Emmanuela in the Account and Audit department also presented their papers on “The Concept and Practice of System Review in The Fight against Corruption. While Okoro Dennis of the Legal department did an overview of the ICPC Act 2000. Mrs Obili Florence spoke on “The Relevance of Planning, Research, and Review Department in The Fight against Corruption” She said the department” co-ordinates the activities of other departments towards working effectively and efficiently in curbing corruption.”
Miss Egbule Chika of the Administrative Department delivering a paper titled “The Structure and Operation of Administration Department of the ICPC” emphasised on staff discipline by listing the disciplinary measures such as query, suspension, demotion and dismissal.
Others who presented papers on various topics were Miss. Ofojua Ngozi on the Importance of Computer in Curbing Corruption. She stated that ICPC being an Anti-graft agency, expected members of staff to be knowledgeable in the use of computer application and operational system since documents are always kept secret and also to meet up with the advancement in globalisation.
Mr. Anikwe Iginatus and Mr. Opkorie Kalu also spoke on “The Psychology of Driving” and “The Security of Document” respectively. Mr Anikwe stated that, driving requires high intelligence, good skills, good judgment, good foresight and alertness. He maintained that, driving is basically an interaction between the driver, the vehicle and the road. Mr. Okporie Kalu, stated that, for a staff to properly secure any document, a proper record of movement of the document should be kept to ensure that checks will reveal losses of the documents.
In his remarks, at the end of the programme, Bar. Arua Udonsi the Head of the ICPC Enugu Zonal Office commended the effort and the leadership qualities which Miss Nwozor demonstrated as the Acting Head when he was on his annual leave.
Responding, Miss Nwozor Chinwe thanked the Head for giving her the opportunity to exhibit her innate potentials; she also expressed gratitude to all the staff for their cooperation and urged staff to continue with the good behavior and dedication to duty.
At the end of the training programme, all the staff interviewed expressed joy and satisfaction, saying the training was very educative and they recommended that, training of this nature should be held frequently to equip the staff on good public presentation and good knowledge of ICPC.
DSP Azubuike Fredrick of the Investigation Department said he was overwhelmed at the initiative and the training has given him more understanding of the duties and functions of other departments in the commission, and recommended that such training be done quarterly in all the state and zonal offices.
Written by: Ozi Agualize Eyimeke