The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced a two-day capacity-building workshop for Akwa Ibom State Local Government Officials on corruption prevention and optimal resource management in local government administration.
This was disclosed in Abuja by the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, at the Workshop organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), a training and research arm of the Commission, in collaboration with the Foundation for Transparency and Accountability (FTA), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with support from the Akwa Ibom State Government.
The Chairman, who was represented by the Director, Systems Study and Review Department of the Commission, Olusegun Adigun stated that the Commission had designed the workshop in order to help principal officers of the Akwa Ibom State local government councils identify corruption risks in their domains so as to develop appropriate prevention measures.
Aliyu noted that the Commission has, in response to the full financial autonomy of the third-tier of government in Nigeria, set up the Accountability and Corruption Prevention Programme for Local Government (ACPP-LG), a corruption prevention mechanism for proactive disclosure of relevant information and compliance to ensure transparency and accountability in the operations and decision-making processes of the local governments.
He further revealed that the ACPP-LG initiative would help to monitor and evaluate the performance of local governments, ensuring continuous improvement and responsiveness to citizens’ needs.
Aliyu warned the participants that the Commission will not shy away from its enforcement mandate that allows it to prosecute local government officials who are found guilty of engaging in corrupt practices.
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In his goodwill message, the Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Akwa Ibom State, Dr. Uwemedimo Udo, thanked the ICPC for organizing the workshop specifically for all local government principal officers from the State.
He assured the Commission that they were ready to put into practice all that they were going to learn.
The participants comprised ALGON leadership and other local government council chairmen, leaders of legislative councils, heads of service, directors of finance, and other officials from across the 31 LGCs of Akwa Ibom State.
(Editor : Ena Agbanoma)
