The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Katsina State office, has charged outgoing National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Community Development Service (CDS) Batch A1 members to shun all forms of corruption and to lead exemplary lives defined by integrity and transparency.
The call was made recently by the State’s Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner (RACC), Mr Samuel S. Lodam, during a sensitisation event and the presentation of membership certificates to the corps members. The ceremony took place at the ICPC Conference Room in Katsina.
Speaking at the event, Mr Lodam urged the youth corps members to embrace honesty and ethical conduct not only during their national service but also in their future endeavours. He emphasised that corruption undermines national economic development, erodes integrity, destroys reputations and trust, and fuels illiteracy, poverty, underdevelopment and moral decay in society.
The sensitisation programme focused on the definition, forms, causes, effects and consequences of corruption. It also outlined the ICPC’s anti-corruption strategies aimed at boosting the morale of Nigerian youths and stamping out corruption at both state and national levels.
Mr Lodam reiterated that the fight against corruption cannot be left to the government alone; it is a collective responsibility. He called for active participation from Nigerian youths and the general public to realise a corruption-free Nigeria.
He also educated the corps members on the functions of the ICPC, which include enforcement, prevention, public education and youth mobilisation as enshrined in the Corrupt Practices Act of 2000.
Earlier in his remarks, the President of the NYSC CDS Group, Katsina chapter, Mr Hassan Abdullahi, on behalf of the group, commended the ICPC for its committed enlightenment strategies aimed at restoring the nation’s lost glory. He pledged the group’s continued loyalty to the ICPC’s anti-corruption programmes, both now and in the future.
Mr Abdullahi also sought the ICPC’s continued support in providing anti-corruption information, education and communication (IEC) materials to serving corps members. He noted that such resources would enable them to effectively reach students and local communities during their own sensitisation programmes against corruption.