A former president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Otis Anyaeji, has identified corruption as a major challenge militating against electricity supply in Nigeria, warning that if not tackled, it will continue to affect businesses negatively.
Otis, who is the traditional head of Ubahu-Okija in Anambra State, made this known while delivering a lecture titled ‘Managing Business Risks In Volatile Business Environment: Survival Strategies For Private Businesses’, presented during the Honourary Fellowship Conferment on Lady Josephine Nwaeze in Abuja.
Otis, who is also the chairman and chief executive officer of O.T. Otis Engineering Ltd, said the money involved in the grand larceny in the electricity sector is substantial, but that what was even more damaging was accepting corruption as a way of doing business.
According to him, when high-profile politicians and government functionaries routinely engage in corrupt practices, the stigma begins to wear away. “Gradually what is a misdemeanour in the higher echelons becomes an entitlement to the levels below.
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“At the grassroots level, utility employees find nothing wrong supplementing their modest pay by what they have come to consider the perquisites of office.
“The day-to-day petty corruption faced by the public breeds cynicism steadily erodes faith in the system and eventually gnaws away the very moral foundations of the society.’’
The managing director/CEO of News Engineering Nigeria Limited, Lady Josephine Nwaeze, after her honourary fellowship conferment, reaffirmed commitment to work more assiduously in promoting excellence in the engineering field and contributing to the progress of Nigeria.
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