FG Set-Up 17-Man Anti-Corruption Panel

A 17-man committee has been set up by the Federal Government to monitor and evaluate the implementation of its anti-corruption strategies.

The committee whose members were drawn from various government agencies and Civil Society Organisations, was inaugurated by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, in Abuja,today.

Malami said the Committee is to work on the Implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and will cover periods spanning from 2017 to 2021.

According to Malami, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy comprised five pillars prevention, public engagement, ethical re-orientation, enforcement and sanction, and recovery and management of proceeds of crime.

“Under the fourth pillar of the National Anti-Corruption, Strategy which is enforcement and sanction, particularly the implementing structure (sub-national), it was stated that monitoring and evaluation committee should involve all sectors and which brought us all here today,” the AGF stated.

He said the committee has a primary mandate to ensure all National Anti-Corruption strategy is fully put to use.
Some of the government agencies in the committee included the Head, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms; the Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission; the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement; the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; the Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau; and the Director-General, Bureau for Public Service Reforms.

As well as representatives of the Coordinating Director, Public Complaints Commission; the Minister of Information and Culture; the Minister of Communication Technology; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; and the Auditor-General of the Federation.

Civil Society groups that are to be represented on the committee are, Zero Corruption Coalition, Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Civil Society Network Against Corruption; Youth Against Corruption, and Development Measures.

Meanwhile, in her speech,Chairman of the committee, Mrs. Ladid Mohammed, pledged commitment of her team towards actualizing their mandate.

On his part, the National Programme Manager, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Project of the European Union in Nigeria, Mr. Danladi Plang, urged members of the committee to see their roles like those of an auditor.

“You are like auditors because it is for you to challenge the data brought to you for assessment.

“So people will not really like the job you are doing”, Plang added.