The Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, has said that the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) in Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) were set up to entrench transparency and accountability in the public sector.
Mr. Nta, made the remark through Mr. Justin Kuatsea of the Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Department (CMED) of ICPC, at the inauguration of ACTU of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). The chairman maintained that ACTU – one of the initiatives the Commission, would help to combat corrupt practices in the public service.
According to him, “The unit is an institutional ethics and anti-corruption instrument which ICPC under its preventive mandate established in collaboration with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in 2001, to serve as an in-house check mechanism within MDAs.”
Mr. Nta added that the mission of FHA which was to promote housing delivery for sustainable settlements as a catalyst for socio-economic development in Nigeria could not be realized if the institution was not fully poised to provide transparent and accountable service and its operatives seen to be above board at all times.
He therefore charged the new members of ACTU not to use their position to witch-hunt their colleagues and the management but to work in harmony towards a corruption-free FHA.
He also advised the management to give the unit unalloyed support in order to realise the lofty goal of positioning it on the path of assisting in removing all vestiges of corruption wherever they exist in the agency.
Earlier in his remarks, the MD/CEO of FHA, Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, expressed optimism that the establishment of ACTU in the agency would help the staff perform their statutory duties in line with international best practice.
“ACTU is a structure set up by ICPC in all MDAs to do checks and balances just like the Commission is doing in the larger font,” he stated.
Professor Al-Amin further enlightened all the participants on some of the anti-corruption measures he has put in place in the FHA. For instance, he said his insistence on proper documentation has led to fewer cases of missing files.
He also charged the newly inaugurated ACTU members to cut down on their lifestyles to avoid unnecessary temptations.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the newly inaugurated ACTU, Mr. Humprey Ukeh, said that together with his team they would be objective and firm in carrying out their duties even as they hit the ground running.