War Against Corruption: Stakeholders Advocate for Contributions of Everyone to Reduce Corruption in Nigeria

 

The Civil Society Organizations, CSO's and Stakeholders have advocated for strong engagement and contributions of everyone to reduce corruption, improve service delivery and support anti- corruption reforms in Nigeria.

The recommendation was made by participants during the Civil Society Advocacy To Strengthen Anti- Corruption Reforms in Nigeria (CASARN) Project, Mid-Term Review Meeting/Validation of Anti- Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs)  organized by the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ in Benin City.

The stakeholders noted that the story of Corruption would have been worse in the country, but for the Anti- corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) across Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs.

The Executive Director, of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor who was represented by ANEEJ Deputy Executive Director, Comrade Leo Atakpu said  the CASARN project is part of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC II) programme being implemented by the  International IDEA with funding from the European Union in Nigeria.

"Today’s meeting is a significant milestone in our collective effort to overcome corruption through strategic civil society advocacy, effective institutional engagement, and cross-sector partnerships. Through CASARN, we are working hand in hand with government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, civil society organisations, and the media to promote critical reforms and empower citizens to hold public officials accountable. 

"Our efforts are rooted in prevention, and we believe that sustained collaboration among stakeholders  including government actors, NGOs, faith-based organisations, the media, and local communities  is essential for building a transparent and accountable Nigeria.

“Today’s meeting will allow us to reflect on our progress over the past eight months, evaluate project implementation, share challenges and lessons learned, and validate the draft ACTUs assessment report”.

"While sharing the achievements of the CASARN project thus far since its inception in September, 2024, Ugolor urged participants to feed the organisation back as they engage them in discussion that will shape the future direction of CASARN and expressed appreciation to the European Union and International IDEA for their financial and technical support," he added.

The participants drawn from Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences Commission, ICPC-Abuja, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Orientation Agency (Edo State), ACTUs representative from Federal Psychiatric Hospital in Benin, other relevant MDAs, RoLAC State Coordinators office, civil society organizations and the media recommended on possible next steps  to chart a way forward to achieve maximum results as intended. 

According to the ICPC representative from Abuja, Mr. Kupolati Kayode in his remarks, ACTUs are put in place by the Federal government to give   ICPC the support to fight Corruption.

"The ACTUs were put in place in the various MDAs at the Federal level on the request of ICPC as part of efforts in enlisting their support in the war against Corruption as the Commission cannot fight Corruption alone," he disclosed.


Other Participants, including the ACTU Chairperson in the Nigeria Information Technology Agency (NITDA) Mrs. Elizabeth Ntekim and the Secretary of Edo Civil Society Organizations (EDOSCO) Comrade Osazee Edigin who commended ANEEJ for the great work,  made robust inputs on how the existing ACTUs can be strengthened to improve transparency and accountability in the respective MDAs and they maintained that it is the responsibility of everyone to have  collective responsibility to change the system

"We all have a responsibility to contribute to the reduction of Corruption where ever we find ourselves," they noted.

They identified attitudinal change, actionable steps and recommended  improvement in the CASARN project implementation to achieve optimal results and valuable inputs to improve and firm up the draft ACTUs research report, which will be finalized and used as policy document for stakeholders' engagement. 

The Participants also expressed happiness in the new knowledge of ACTUs and recommended its setup in state MDAs and adequate funding by the Federal Government and  improvement on  awareness about the advocacy to Strengthen Anti-Corruption Reforms in the next five months when the one year project will be rounding up.

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