The Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, has stated that corruption was responsible for all the negative indexes Nigeria was known for.
Professor Owasanoye, who also attributed corruption as the greatest challenge for the country at the moment, stated this at a capacity building workshop for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption in Abuja.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Agugua, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Friday.
According to the chairman: “Corruption is the enemy of development and good governance. Corruption is Nigeria’s greatest challenge and is directly associated with national security challenges, current economic decline, poverty expansion, reduced life expectancy, high mortality and deteriorating livelihood experienced by citizens.”
He said there was an urgent need to tackle the problems through concerted efforts from both the state and non-state actors for a better Nigeria to emerge.
Professor Owasanoye, therefore, urged the National Assembly to deploy its oversight powers on government agencies and departments as well as its legislative control over public expenditure and audit of public accounts to effectively curb corruption in the public sector.
“The fight against corruption is our collective responsibility and not the duty of the government alone. We must visualize the type of country and environment that we want to live in and bequeath to generations yet unborn.
“Our immediate objective is to reduce corruption in our lifetime to such an extent that it can no longer threaten our collective well-being, peace, development. The legislature can lead us to our collective vision through its constitutional mandate,” He stressed.
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