The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) have taken steps to rejuvenate the collaboration between them on the communication of anti-corruption policies and programmes of the federal government of Nigeria.
This was occasioned by a courtesy visit made by the Chairman of ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, with a team of the board and management staff of the Commission to the NTA headquarters in Abuja, recently.
During the visit, the ICPC Chairman, declared that the Commission wished to rekindle and foster NTA’s support in the area of public education and enlightenment on ICPC programmes and activities by leveraging on the immense coverage and reach of its television channels and stations.
He noted that while ICPC ran an English programme, Corruption Must Go! on NTA Network and its WAZOBIA version on NTA Startimes weekly, they were inadequate for the achievement of the Commission’s and by extension government objectives.
Prof. Owasanoye therefore solicited for the development of a ‘strategic partnership’ that would be driven within NTA’s social responsibility framework and would ensure optimum public education and enlightenment, especially the youths, on government and ICPC’s anti-corruption strides.
The ICPC boss, further requested collaboration of the TV station for the coverage of ICPC 20th Anniversary programmes and activities which would come up later in the year.
In his response, the Director-General NTA, Mallam Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, noted that the third aspect of ICPC mandate which is public education and enlightenment, was the one that coincided with his organisation’s mandate.
He explained that, though partially commercialized, NTA had a duty to publicise government policies and programmes, while noting that government agencies were expected to leverage on it for publicity for their activities.
The NTA DG therefore stated that his organisation was ready to collaborate with ICPC further, while pledging its assistance for the coverage of the Commission’s 20th anniversary programmes and activities.
As an indication of his commitment to granting the ICPC Chairman’s request, he suggested the constitution of a joint committee to implement the partnership and immediately appointed Directorate cadre officers of NTA into it.