The Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Bayelsa State Office, Mrs. Ekere Usiere has expressed concern over the devastating impact of corruption, stating that it has brought Nigeria to its knees both economically and socially.
Mrs. Usiere also urged citizens to be courageous in exposing corrupt practices to help combat the menace.
Speaking on Thursday in Yenagoa during the Anti-Corruption Day organised by the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the resident commissioner said if Nigerians do not take courage to kill corruption, the nation risks being killed by the scourge in the nearest future.
Presenting a paper titled; “From Fear To Courage: Overcoming Barriers To Whistleblowing In Nigeria”, the ICPC commissioner maintained that for Nigeria to combat corruption, the people must put on the armour of courage and eschew fears.
“There is no gainsaying that the scourge of corruption has brought Nigeria to its knees, from economic underdevelopment to socio-political decadence. If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will definitely kill Nigeria. That is why we need an effective whistleblower mechanism as a critical tool to fight against corruption.
“To effectively blow the whistle against corruption, we, the citizens need courage. The absence of fear is simply the definition of courage. Citizens need to overcome cultural, psychological and systemic challenges to blow the whistle against corruption and other ills bedeviling our country Nigeria,” Usiere said.
Describing the programme as timely and a welcome development, she charged participants to obliterate fear from their mindset and embrace courage for them to blow the whistle against corruption.
“If we must fight corruption in Nigeria, and reduce it to the barest minimum, then we must put on the armor of courage to surmount the fear of whistle blowing. If you see something, you must say something! If you hear something, you must say something,” she said.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omotsola Ogbe, reiterated resolve of the staff and board in protecting the institution from all forms of corruption tendency through preventive strategies.
“Today, we are marking and celebrating international Anti-Corruption Day, with the focus on raising the consciousness of our youths on the ills of corruption and how it turns the socio-economic development of any nation.
“In NCDMB, we have taken deliberate steps curb corruption, we have provided adequate supports to our ACTU members by providing a functional office and giving them a free hand to discharge their functions.
“In area of capacity building and awareness, we have deepened our participation in Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria through capacity building training for staff, including training in corruption prevention techniques, strategies for effective workplace Anti-Corruption campaign, bribery and corruption risk assessment, among others, all these underline the board stance against corruption,” he said.
In the area of system check, he said the Board has instituted corrupt risk assessment probing major functions of the board including human resources, procurement, monetary evaluation, planning, research and statistics, all in a bid to mitigate vulnerability to corruption across the board.
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