Press Release
Pioneer Secretary of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Emmanuel Akomaye, has said that the war on
corruption is one that should not be left only in the hands of anti-graft
agencies, if it must be won.
Akomaye, who made the assertion at a two-day
anti-corruption risk assessment training workshop for government institutions,
held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, March 4-5, 2015, reiterated the fact
that while the agencies have the primary task of fighting corruption, they need
the cooperation and collaboration of members of the society.
“The political will and commitment of
government and the leaders, to fight corruption has always been a question
raised by many, but that is only one aspect of the country’s readiness to rid
our society of corruption,” he said.
While describing zero tolerance to corruption
as a concerted commitment to respond reasonably and adequately to acts of
corruption when and wherever they occur, he said, “The media, members of the
private sector and indeed every Nigerian must equally commit, both in will and
resources, to support anti-corruption initiatives.”
The head of the Intelligence and Special
Operations Section(ISOS) of the EFCC, Abdul Suleiman, who represented the
anti-graft agency’s boss, Ibrahim Lamorde, reiterated the commitment of the
agency, to fight corruption with renewed vigour.
“Corruption means more than public officers
taking bribes and gratification, committing fraud and stealing funds and assets
entrusted in their care,” he said. “It means the deliberate violations, for
gainful ends, of standards of conduct, or ethics, established in private and
public affairs to cause wrongful loss to the society and wrongful gains to
people in position of trust.”
Suleiman stressed that to bring down the rate
of corruption in any nation to a tolerable level, required fundamentally
restructuring the country’s mode of production to “one that guarantees the
basic necessities of human existence.”
He said, “Such a system should encourage the
spirit of cooperation and altruism and not competition or greed.”
The head, Transparency and Anti-Corruption
Initiatives of the UN Global Compact, Olajobi Makinwa, noted that it has become
paramount for private companies and businesses, to put in place anti-corruption
policies as part of their contribution to the war on corruption.
“Every company must commit to fighting
corruption, and this can be done by ensuring that risk assessments of various
sectors are carried out, with the aim of helping to put in place necessary
policies to check corruption,” she said.
The workshop was organized by the Nigerian
Economic Summit Group, NESG, in partnership with the EFCC, The Convention on
Business Integrity, Lagos Business School, Siemens and Oando Plc.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
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