A civil society organisation, the Initiative for Citizens Right, Accountability and Development, has offered to partner with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in the areas of legislative and policy advocacy.
The group made the offer during a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, at the Commission’s headquarters recently.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Initiative, Hassan Luqman Esq., who spoke on behalf of the group said: “The motive behind the visit is solely that of seeking for collaboration with ICPC in the fight against corruption for nation-building.”
He said his organisation was proud of the strides being made by ICPC in the anti-corruption effort and therefore had decided to support that effort leveraging on its own areas of competence which could be deployed in bringing to fruition the needed amendment of the operating legislation of the Commission – the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000- in the light of current realities.
Luqman also revealed that his organisation was in the process of developing anti-corruption modules that can be domiciled in government institutions to help diminish corruption.
Responding, Professor Owasanoye who was represented by a member of the ICPC board, Hon. Dauda Yahaya Umar, stated that he was pleased with the offer made because since ordinary citizens disproportionately suffer the negative effects of corruption, the campaign against it should involve them and not be left for the President or anti-corruption agencies alone.
The ICPC Chairman added that the Commission, in its effort to curb corruption, had always welcomed partnerships with other organizations because it recognized the fact that the corruption war could only be won through a collective approach, and that the new board would not deviate from this path.
“When we were inaugurated as a board, we thought of repositioning the system, and as such, whenever we see an organisation planning to partner with us in the fight against corruption, we are happy for the move because that tells us that we are not in the fight alone,” he noted.
Also speaking during the visit, another member of the board, Hon. Hannatu Mohammed, expressed hope for a smooth and fruitful partnership with ICRAD that would go a long way in reducing corruption in Nigeria.