Youths have been charged to champion the fight against corruption in their respective campuses in order to enjoy the socio-economic and political benefits of a corruption-free society.
This charge was given by the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner (RACC) of the Imo State office of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Peter Adamu Alumbugu, during a courtesy visit by the members of the Student Anti-Corruption Vanguard (SAV) of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) at the Commission’s conference room in Owerri recently.
In his welcome speech, the RACC noted that youths are vibrant and form a large segment of the Nigerian population, and as a result should position themselves at the forefront of the anti-corruption fight in both their schools and communities.
He encouraged the students to be courageous, vigilant and to promptly report corrupt practices in their school environment to the appropriate authority, emphasing that it is the only way to curb impunity and cases of abuse amongst lecturers.
Mr. Alumbugu also admonished the students to live above board and be of good conduct in all their academic activities on the campus, stressing that “he who comes to equity, must come with clean hands”.
He reiterated the fact that the Commission is very much concerned with entrenching the culture of integrity in schools nationwide.
Responding, the President of the SAV of FUTO, Mr. Amah Nelson, informed the Commissioner that the executive members of the Vanguard thought it necessary to pay a courtesy visit to formally get acquainted with the state office of the ICPC and to give a brief of their activities since being inaugurated in May, 2023.
Mr. Nelson, who spoke for the group, disclosed that since inauguration, the Vanguard has been working hard to checkmate corruption in the school and had been involved with election monitoring, investigation of corrupt cases, examination monitoring, checking cases of abuse by course representatives and working hand in hand with the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the institution.
He mentioned that some erring course representatives have changed their behaviour due to the vigilant activities of the Vanguard and also some persons who were not qualified for electoral positions were dropped.
Nelson thanked the Commission for creating the SAV platform for youths who are passionate about social change to actively contribute their best in minimizing the level of corruption in the school and the society.
During the event, heads of units of the ICPC in the state office explained the mandate and processes of the Commission to the students.