The Independent Corrupt Practice and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), South-South zone, says corruption has disastrous impact on the Nigeria’s development when funds that should be devoted for schools, health clinics and other vital public services are instead diverted into the hands of criminals and dishonest people. The anti-corruption fighting agency said for the fight against corruption to be successful, it requires synergy between the people and the anti-corruption agencies.
The commission further said it was against this background that the agency initiated a lot of outreach programmes involving larger society such as the National Values Curriculum, formation of anti-corruption CDS groups for youth corps members, formation of anti-corruption clubs in secondary and primary schools, formation of anti-corruption vanguards in tertiary institutions, the National Anti-Corruption Volunteer Corps (NAVC), among others.
ICPC Commissioner in-charge of South-South Zone Henry Emore, disclosed this during a Grassroots Anti-Corruption Campaign for the informal sector of the economy in Cross River State organised by Anti-Corruption and Transparency Support Initiative (ACTSI) and sponsored by ICPC in Calabar. He said the grassroots anti-corruption campaign involved the Nigerian Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), National Orientation Agency (NOA), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employees Association (RTEAN) and Civil Society Organisations in Cross River State. “In the last four decades, corruption has become so complex and pervasive in Nigeria, like in many other countries, it is found in every facet of our lives, from family to religious organisations, to schools, market as well as the formal and informal sector,” Emore said.
He further observed that corruption “suppresses economic growth by driving up cost and undermines democracy and the rule of law; it breaches fundamental human rights and increases poverty and in-equality”.
In his presentation titled curbing corruption on Nigerian roads, Demola Bakere, assistant commissioner ICPC, Abuja, said corruption was killing development in Nigeria, stressing that many businesses and factories have been closed down because corruption has squeezed them out by increasing the cost of doing business.
He said that many foreign companies no longer want to come to Nigeria to establish because of the huge money they have to pay as bribe. “Corruption has even killed our good morals and culture. Now, we do not ask how people made their money, we just worship them, sing their praises and want them to give us part of the stolen money,” he said.
The team leader of ACTSI, Edidiong Sambo said the objective of the awareness campaign was to avail participants, especially the grassroots people, of the danger of corruption on the nation’s economy, especially in the transport sector with a view to reducing it or possibly eliminating it from the Nigerian society.
