War On Corruption: Stakeholders Call For Creation Of Anti-Graft Agencies In States
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
Several governments and political parties in Nigeria have used their chants against corruption as a ticket to win elections.
These chants according to stakeholders at a press conference by a coalition of Civil Society Organisations on anti-corruption, should now be sung by the citizenry so as to achieve the dream of a corrupt free Nigeria.
In his speech, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center and Transparency International CISLAC-TI, Auwal Rafsanjani, called on relevant agencies and the judiciary to reveal the large number of foreign and domestic enablers responsible for the nation’s corruption cases in the interest of accountability and good governance.
He said these foreign corruption enablers are yet to face the full wrath of the law owing to corruption in the Judiciary which has led to the major challenges of distrust and lack of confidence in the judiciary and its negative impact on the fight against the corruption.
For a Senior Fellow at the Center for Democracy Development, CDD, Professor Jubrin Ibrahim, even anti-corruption agencies are unable to carry out their statutory function of prosecuting offenders due to corruption.
Others who spoke, including the Zountry Director, Accountability Lab, Odey Friday, the Coordinator African Centre For Media and Information Literacy, Dr Chido Onumah, Samson Itodo of YIAGA Africa among others, gave a list of remedies to ending corruption in Nigeria and need to set up anti-corruption agencies in states and local government areas.
These stakeholders believe, corruption in Nigeria may be contributory to the “japa” syndrome currently eating deep into the productiveness of the country.
