Abuja – Corruption has seriously retarded development of the country
and Nigeria cannot afford to treat it as business as usual, Sen. Bala
Mohammed, Minister of FCT, has said.
Moammed stated this on Thursday in Abuja during a sensitisation
programme organised by the FCTA Anti-Corruption and Monitoring Unit for
the senior officers of the administration
“Corruption has remained a major enemy of our progress as people and
as a nation; and with the determination to rid us of these unwholesome
practices and problems, the FCT Administration will continue to work to
ensure zero tolerance on corruption.
“It is in this vein that Mr President has continued to demonstrate
clearly his intention to rid the country of corruption; for instance,
the on-going trial of those involve in oil subsidy scam among other
cases, is a clear testimony and indication of the present
administration’s commitment and determination to ensure transparency,
accountability and good governance; and we cannot afford to lag behind.”
According to him, the critical policy trust that FCT is pushing is
the government’s commitment to maximising those benefits the citizenry
derive from transparent governance through proper use of public
resources.
He said that the five-man committee set up last year by FCTA was saddled with the responsibility of anchoring anti-corruption.
The minister identified some of the responsibilities of the committee
to include checking corruption in FCTA and liaising with the
anti-corruption agencies with a view to evolving sustainable ways of
eliminating corruption within the FCTA.
He said that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of
carrying out enlightenment activities aimed at educating FCTA staff on
the negative consequences of corrupt practices.
Mr Ozigis Yakubu, the Chairman, FCTA Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU),
said the unit had conducted extensive research on how to tackle
corruption in some departments under FCTA.
According to him, the department is faced with some challenges that can hinder effective delivery of its mandates.
“One of the challenges we are having is funds; the unit needs a
special budget to enable it perform its duties effectively.’’ (NAN)
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