The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Tuesday, said it would work very closely with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to tackle corruption in the extractive industry.
The Chairman of the commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN) gave this indication during a visit to the corporate headquarters of the commission by the top management of NEITI led by its Executive Secretary, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji.
A statement by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Agugua, and made available to newsmen in Abuja, quoted Professor Owasanoye as saying ensuring transparency and accountability of the extractive industries has become necessary due to its importance as the largest revenue earner for the nation.
He assured that the collaboration with the NEITI would help recover revenues for the government and block loopholes in the extractive industries.
According to him: “We will use our own statutory mandate and enforcement powers to back up NEITI’s work for the collective interest of our country.
“The ICPC will also beam its searchlight on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in the revenue side of governance as part of its preventive mandate.” He assured.
The ICPC boss decried that the existing governing law for NEITI was over 60 years old, and therefore encouraged the new leadership of the organisation to ensure that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) law was passed by the National Assembly.
Earlier, the leader of the NEITI delegation, Dr Orji, while explaining the purpose of the visit, said that the agency was facing governance issues and corruption in the extractive industries because it lacked the powers to arrest and prosecute.
The Executive Secretary called for the establishment of an Extractive Industries Desk in the ICPC, saying: “We can leverage on ICPC’s enforcement powers to help us so that those people we are dealing with will have an understanding that with their powers to bite, there would be consequences.”
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