The Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, Dr. Nasir Mohammed Ladan, has called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to monitor full implementation of Nigera’s annual appropriation law popularly called the national budget.
Dr. Ladan made the call at the inauguration and induction of the re-constituted Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of his agency by ICPC recently.
The DG said that a lot of progress would be recorded if a good percentage of the N9trn Nigeria’s budget was to be judiciously utilized, calling on ICPC “to please help check corruption in this aspect as most of the funds meant for budget implementation are diverted by a few individuals.” He noted that if that was done it would better the lives of Nigerians
The NDE boss charged all Nigerians to treat their positions of trust with every sense of sincerity and uprightness, adding that it was important for public officers to bear in mind that “there is a supreme being whom they will all give account to someday.”
Dr. Ladan also pledged to be guided by his organization’s ethical code as he carries out his duties.
“I will never tell you to bend the law, let alone break it. Remain focused in all your dealings, channel your challenges to us to see how we can help you rather than dip your hand into government coffers because when you do that you are denying over 150million Nigerians of their right to a better life,” Dr. Ladan advised the newly constituted ACTU members.
“When in doubt, please ask questions instead of running afoul of the law,” he concluded
In his address during the inauguration, the ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, who was represented by Mr. Emmanuel Dio of the Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Department, enjoined the Directorate to institutionalize the culture of accountability and transparency to ensure that Nigerians utilize every opportunity provided by the government for job creation.
He called on the ACTU to “Assist and advise the Directorate to ensure there is probity and accountability in the disbursement of soft loans to outstanding beneficiaries of your vocational programmes, and to monitor the effective utilisation of such funds.”