The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Thursday said, deep-rooted corruption in every sector is the cause of current hardship being faced by Nigerians.
The chairman of ICPC, Adamu Aliyu, who stated this at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja, said Nigeria was facing the realities of corruption, which had drastically affected the development of the economy.
Aliyu spoke through the Secretary to the Commission, Clifford Okwudiri Oparaodu, when members of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) visited him.
The anti-graft agency boss said it was important for Nigerians to adhere to policies to curb the challenges being faced in the execution of constituency and executive projects.
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According to him, it is important to place significance on enlightening the public against corruption by the institutions, saying the agency would not relent in enlightening the public which is one of the core mandates of the Commission
He advised the CJID to take advantage of the Freedom of Information Act to get information from government agencies, and that when agencies refuse to disclose the information they requested, the agencies should be sued
Aliyu, therefore, encouraged Nigerians to be patient while ensuring that they contribute their quota to the ongoing reform of the nation.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the team and CEO of CJID, Dapo Olorunyomi, stated that the visit was aimed at strengthening the already existing relationship between the organisation and the ICPC, as well as to identify areas to assist the Commission in the tracking of constituency and executive projects.
Olorunyomi emphasised the need for a lot more direct engagement with citizens as Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) could not win the fight against corruption alone and that it was important to enlighten citizens more about CEPTI as the organisation could also aid the tracking exercise if armed with adequate knowledge.
He said the Centre had faced some challenges in receiving data from some MDAs and expressed the hope that ICPC would be able to assist in that regard.
The CJID boss said that CJID was willing to bring an interface of media engagement to the Commission’s work and in addition, lend and share global database resources that would help the Commission’s investigation activities.
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