The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences (ICPC) says lack of laws and policies implementation has been a major challenge in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
The ICPC chairman Bolaji Owasanoye, made the assertion on Tuesday in Ibadan at a Stakeholders’ Zonal Dialogue on Implementation of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy, South-West Edition.
Owasanoye, represented by a member of the agency’s board, Olubukola Balogun said that loss of values of truthfulness, nationalism and respect for human dignity was fuelling corruption in the country.
“The National Ethics and Integrity Policy is a child of necessity. It was conceived and delivered out of the urgent need to resuscitate and rejuvenate our list values of honesty and integrity as a nation.
“The values of yesteryears of truthfulness, nationalism and respect for human dignity have been lost on us, that is why corruption has become so rampant in the society.
“It is in recognition of the pivotal role value reorientation plays in the fight against corruption that ICPC initiated the National Ethics and Integrity Policy,” he said.
Owasanoye said that the national ethics and integrity policy was different from other obsolete polices.
“It is people’s driven and not government-driven, as it contains features such as consequence management and implementation template with stakeholders’ sentisation dialogue, which will be held across the country on zonal basis,” he said.
Also, Folake Ayoola, Oyo State director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), said the National Ethics and Integrity Policy was developed by the ICPC, while NOA had been an active partner in this policy.
Ayoola said: “The policy was developed in response to many damaging effects of corruption in both public and private sectors, with a view to help restore and revitalise these sectors.
“The policy will be stepped down to various stakeholders and to the grassroots to cover the entire country for better understanding of the policy.”
Also, the Onpetu of Ijeruland, Sunday Oladapo, stressed the need for the nation’s leaders and its citizens to recognise the negative impact of corruption on national development and economic prosperity.
“Africans, especially Nigerians have strong values for ethics and morals dating back to centuries.
“Individuals, groups and society do not play with our cherished values including honesty, trustworthiness, modesty in utterances, cementing family and friendship ties, among others.
“Findings revealed that erosion of our highly moral values started the downward trend and frantic efforts to rescue this situation have not yielded the desired results.
“Admission of cultures, which are largely foreign and strange to ours, has impacted negatively on our children and youths.
“For the policy to make an effective impact, individuals, groups, traditional rulers and corporate bodies must join hands to retrieve our lost values, ethics and integrity,” he said.
Civil societies, members of the National Youth Service Corps and other stakeholders were present at the dialogue where solutions to the country’s problems were discussed. NAN
