Emir urges FG to involve traditional institution in fight against corruption

The Emir of Keffi, Nasarawa State, Alhaji Shehu Yamsa III, on Friday called on the Federal Government to actively involve the traditional institution in the fight against corruption.
Yamusa made the call at the closing ceremony of the maiden Post-Graduate Certificate Course in Corruption Prevention of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria in Keffi.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that ACAN is the training and research arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The monarch specifically called for a framework to engage the traditional institution in monitoring and reporting individuals in communities that are living above their means of income.
He said government needed the input of the traditional institution to fully understand the history of the different forms and causes of corruption in the country.
While commending ICPC for its focus on prevention of corruption through ACAN, Yamusa said his kingdom was open for a strong collaboration with the commission in devising a holistic approach in the fight against corruption.
NAN reports that 35 officials of the Federal and Kano State governments participated in the one-month course.
The participants were drawn from the Nigerian Ports Authority, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Petroleum Equalisation Fund, the Federal Ministry of Transportation, and the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State who was the Special Guest of Honour at the occasion, said his administration would continue to support the anti-corruption crusade both at the state and federal levels.
Represented by the state Head of Service, Mohammed Nai’ya, Ganduje said the Kano State Government would also sustain its partnership with ACAN in the capacity building of its anti-corruption staff.
NAN also reports that 10 officials of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission participated in the course, among whom is Isah Bello who emerged as the best graduand.
The Special Assistant to the President on Financial Crimes, Kehinde Oginni, said ACAN was critical to the Federal Government’s shift of focus to prevention of corruption through education and sensitisation.
Oginni, who represented the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the course content was rich enough to compete favourably anywhere in the world.
He said: “I want a situation where everybody will know what you do here at ACAN so that within the next one or two years, we should be having a Masters programme, and even taking it further to the level of PhD.
“I commend the academy and I assure you that government will give you the necessary financial and moral support to make you a one-stop shop in the delivery of world-class education in anti-corruption fight.’’
In a lecture, Auwal Musa, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, also underscored the need for emphasis on prevention in the fight against corruption.
Musa said: “It is safer, cheaper and faster to prevent rather than sanction report or prosecute. All other approaches make more demand on scarce resources.
“That is why I think that this initiative by the ICPC) to establish an academy that offers anti-corruption courses with emphasis on prevention is not only laudable but worthy of duplication.
“Prevention of corruption includes taking proactive steps to prevent corruption or minimise same. This will reduce crime and induce a change in attitudes.’’
The Acting Chairman of the ICPC, Musa Abubakar, said the training at ACAN was one of the several avenues through which the commission was pursuing its mandate of preventing corruption.
Abubakar reminded the graduands that their participation in the course had made them key actors in the anti-corruption crusade in their respective agencies.
He said: “You are therefore expected to internalise what you have learnt and to let it reflect in your daily activities.’’
The acting ICPC boss thanked Governor Ganduje for his “relentless effort at entrenching good ethical values of accountability and transparency by sponsoring officers of the state anti-graft commission for the training”.
He also expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State for their support to the ICPC and the academy.