Stakeholders lament paucity of funds in anti-corruption fight

Major stakeholders in the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria on Wednesday lamented the paucity of fund, which they argued is hampering the anti-corruption campaign.
The stakeholders spoke at the public presentation of the maiden edition of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission Law Report at the auditorium of the anti-graft agency in Abuja.
The Guest Lecturer at the presentation and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Abiodun Layonu, lamented the inadequate fundings for the anti-corruption agencies in the country.
Layonu advocated for the introduction of “Anti-Corruption levy” of N500 to address the inadequate funding of the anti-corruption agencies.
Layonu declared: “It is further recommended that there should be an introduction of what should be known as Anti-Corruption Levy of say N500.
“The levy should be a single one-off annual deduction on all existing current accounts having a balance of over N5,000.
This, he said, was one way through which every person could make active contribution to the collective fight against corruption.
“The resultant fund will be in billions to supplement the budgets of the anti-corruption agencies,” he remarked.
He further suggested that “the levy will be deducted with clear narrative by the banks and credited centrally to a specially dedicated and designated account and administered by a body for that purpose for the benefit of the anti-corruption agencies.”
Layonu also specifically recommended that “the ICPC should have a share of the Education Fund” because of the Commission’s education and public enlightenment mandate.
He said the ICPC should be able to receive some direct funding from fines, penalties and forfeitures imposed after conviction.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the ICPC, Ekpo Nta, said that the presentation represented a very important milestone in the annals of the commission in its fight against corruption
Nta said in producing a Law Report of this nature, the ICPC had taken a bold step towards establishing firmly in the minds of “our people that cases of corruption have actually led a lot of people to jail for various terms of imprisonment.”
Justice Mustapha Akanbi the pioneer Chairman of ICPC, in his comment, reiterated that he was committed and dedicated to eradicating the scourge of corruption in Nigeria.
Akanbi explained that before the creation of ICPC in 2000, the only major case of corruption reported in Nigeria was the conviction of Odofin Bello, who was later acquitted and discharged by the Supreme Court.
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, called for better partnership among all the anti-corruption agencies in the country.
Abubakar said: “All agencies in the fight against corruption need to work harder and we need more partnership.
“We are not doing that much now.”
The IGP assured the ICPC boss of his readiness to work with the commission.
Prominent personalities at the event were the former Attorneys General of the Federation and Ministers of Justice, Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Chief A, Olujinmi (SAN); 15 Chief Judges; the Secretary of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, E.A. Aremu; and former Acting Chairman of the ICPC, Ambassador Uriah Angulu.