‘Not All Nigerians Are Corrupt’ – ICPC Chairman Reiterates

Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), Bolaji Owasanoye, argues that it is erroneous to think that all Nigerians are corrupt.

Making this clarification while speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, Owasanoye argued that from his experience in leading the anti-corruption fight at the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption and the ICPC, he had discovered that not all Nigerians are corrupt.

Naija News reports that he explained how some heads of government organizations fall victim to corruption blackmail from their subordinates because they did not read and understand some of the rules, thus being misled by the same people who would now send anonymous petitions against them.

“At one of the recent policy dialogues organised by the ICPC, two very vocal participants boisterously but erroneously maintained that Nigerians who are not corrupt are those who have not had the opportunity to abuse or collude in the abuse of public office, authority or position.

“This erroneous belief by relatively few people that all Nigerians are corrupt can be considered in the light of the traditional anti-corruption interventions in Nigeria and the recent efforts towards expanding the focus of anti-corruption interventions to include the behavioural change approach. From my experience leading the anti-corruption fight at the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption and the ICPC, I can tell you categorically that not all Nigerians are corrupt,” he added.