ICPC, Interior Ministry Like Siamese Twins in Pursuit of Corruption-Free Nigeria – ICPC Chair
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Federal Ministry of Interior have pledged a strategic work alliance towards giving Nigeria a better and reputable image in the committee of nations.
The Chairman of ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu SAN and the Minister of Interior, Honourable Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo made the pledge during a courtesy visit by the Minister and the management team of his ministry to ICPC’s headquarters.
Dr. Aliyu likened the relationship between the Commission and the Federal Ministry of Interior to conjoined twins, dependent on each other for the good of the Nigerian people.
Dr. Aliyu stressed the importance of synergy between the two organisations, saying that both have key roles to play in quelling corruption in Nigeria. While declaring his commitment to positive inter-agency collaboration he said that “ICPC and the Ministry of Interior will work closely, in fairness, to project the image of Nigeria positively”.
He praised the impact of the Minister in ensuring that all agencies under the federal parastatal discharged their duties efficiently and highlighted the giant strides taken by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to ensure their services are more readily accessible to all citizens.
The ICPC boss reiterated that the Interior Ministry’s mandate to provide security to citizens dovetails with the mission of the Commission, as a reduction in corruption will ultimately result in better conditions of living within the country. He added that this will form a substantive bedrock for economic investment, growth, and development.
He went further to highlight several departments and agencies under the portfolio of the Ministry that represented potential for the development of crucial initiatives that will have a positive impact on the war against corruption.
According to him, collaboration can occur between ICPC and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to enlighten and educate citizens who have fallen foul of the law. This will be crucial in gauging reform, as well as assessing the impact of societal reintegration.
The ICPC Chairman stated that capacity building, especially in the area of technological development, was key to bridging the gap between government and the youths. He emphasized the importance of technology in keeping up with the unstable nature of corruption and suggested that job creation would be a viable method of keeping youths positively engaged in acts of integrity and social responsibility.
He pledged that the Commission will keep communication channels to the Ministry of Interior open to ensure that progress is measured closely and all operational gaps are dealt with promptly.
In his remarks, Hon. Tunji-Ojo congratulated Dr. Aliyu for his recent appointment saying “it was a development with the best interest of Nigerians at heart”.
He noted that it is a current global practice to adopt ‘preventive measures’ rather than expending resources in prolonged pursuit of criminals that derive perverse pleasure in being pursued.
He stated that the alliance between ICPC and MDAs was essential to build positive moral values through enlightenment and education in a bid to bridge the knowledge gap.
He further mentioned that collaboration with anti-corruption agencies will “tighten the belt and block loopholes” that persist in the society as having ICPC on hand to review certain policies and documents can save the nation from future problems.
He added that the Ministry of Interior would open her doors to ICPC for research and development of groundbreaking initiatives that will proffer practicable solutions to the problem of corruption in the country.
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