The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has stated that the ideal behaviour for citizens is that they should respect laws of the land, keep their words, do their duty with diligence, not get involved in stealing from the government and cheating others through any form of deception.
The ICPC Kaduna State Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Prince Hassan Mohammed, made this statement during a one-day sensitisation workshop for stakeholders organised by ICPC recently at Kaduna on their role in bringing about behavioural change in the society using the National Ethics and Integrity Policy.
Mohammed, who represented the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, charged the participants to double efforts in spreading the message of anti-corruption to the grassroot and also lead at the forefront in the fight against corruption.
He stated, “You are a mini ICPC in your various settings. I urge you all to be role models and lead by showing exemplary life style, be upright and adopt the culture of integrity in all aspect of life because people look up to you.”
In his remarks, Nuhu Isiyaku Buzum, a Permanent Secretary, who represented the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government at the workshop, reaffirmed the support of the Kaduna state government in the fight against corruption, emphasising that the present dispensation in the state had zero tolerance for corruption.
During his presentation, a Deputy Director of the ICPC Kaduna State office, Bello Idris Bakori, stressed that the fight against corruption was a collective responsivity of all Nigerians, which ICPC alone could not do it alone in riding Nigeria of corruption.
Bakori said, “The Commission has designed several programmes and initiatives to bring about behavioural change in the society. These include the National Values Curriculum (NVC), the National Ethics and Integrity Policy (NEIP) and Ethics Compliance Scorecard (EICS) of Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs).”
Presenting a paper titled: “Context and Pillars of the NEIP and Implementation Strategy”, Mark Faison of Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, obligated the invited groups to uphold the 7 core values of the NEIP that by doing so, corruption would surely reduce to the barest minimum.
Participants at the workshop were representatives of civil society organisations, faith-based organisations, community-based associations, the media, youth groups, professional bodies and representatives of the organised private sector, which were all engaged through group discussion and presentation.
The workshop was supported by the MacArthur Foundation and partnering with ICPC to mainstream social norms and behaviour change approaches into anti-corruption research, training and operations.
