The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta has asked practicing accountants in public and private sectors to be diligent and upright in their work so as to help curtail corruption in Nigeria.
Nta, who was represented by Hon. Member Abdullahi Bako, gave this advice during a courtesy visit by some members of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) to the ICPC headquarters in Abuja recently. He explained that accountants play a huge role in the anti-corruption fight as “No money will leave an organisation without the knowledge of the accountant”.
The ICPC Chairman held that the visit was a first step towards building a good working relationship between ANAN and the Commission.
Earlier, the President and Chairman of ANAN, Mr. Anthony Chukwuemeka Nzom, fcna, had said that transparency and accountability must be the watchword of members of the association as accountants play an important role in the fight against corruption.
The ANAN President also said the aim of the visit was to seek collaboration with ICPC and also discuss issues of importance, not only to ANAN and ICPC, but the country at large.
He revealed that the association was in the forefront of the war against corruption and related vices, and was also promoting the whistle-blowing campaign among its members and the general public.
Mr. Nzom added that ANAN, as the number one body in public service accounting, had come to learn a lot from the Commission and therefore appealed that ICPC should accept the association as a partner so as to collectively rid the society of the cankerworm called corruption.
He also used the visit to bring to the knowledge of the Commission the registration of the Society for Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention (SFAFP), adding that the society would be delighted to use the facilities in Commission’s training academy, Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN).
Also speaking at the event, the National Treasurer of the Association, Professor Benjamin Osisioma, observed that “…unless we apply ourselves diligently and make crime a difficult thing for the criminal we won’t achieve the goals we have set for ourselves”.