The Association of professional bodies of Nigeria (APBN), has called on the federal government to vehemently indict corruption and unethical practices in governance to help promote national development.
Speaking at the 10th APBN Summit held in Abuja, with the theme: “The critical role of professionals in governance and national development” the president of the association, Akin Oyegbola, said the presence of impunity has caused a drastic decay in the society and prevalence of corruption in various sector and profession. He said the federal government must ensure proper execution of laws and policies to help promote good governance and National development
“Nigeria has lots of policies but lack execution and the will to execute. There is no sincerity of purpose. there is always an ulterior motive and that is corruption and if this corruption is not punished, the country only gets decayed. The government must indict corruption across board to ensure compliance with the laws in the country
“All professionals are service-oriented. in executing services. professionals should act ethically wherever they found themselves. not to take advantage of their position to exploit the country while working for the government” he added.
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In the same vein, the Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, has called on the professional bodies to help promote good governance and national development by living up to the ethical standard of their various profession.
He said “we need to live up to the various commitment and oath that we took in getting into our profession for instance, as lawyers, we are ministers in the temple of justice we should thus approach legal issues knowing how we oath to conduct ourselves. Let us deploy our professional competency to serving the country in accordance with international best practices. When we start doing this, our contribution to the economy and to the politics of Nigeria will begin to soar to a new height.”
While delivery a lecture titled “transforming the economy for growth and Inclusivity” Onyepkere said Policy implementation is critical for growth, hence Managers of the economy must strive to push through the plan, policy and budget continuum because policies and plans that do not reflect in public expenditure and allocation of resources are disconnected from reality.
“Resetting our economy for growth is possible but we need leadership and the right ideas, transparency and accountability, innovation and thinking out of the box,” he concluded.
Considering the high rate of insecurity in the country, Analyst and security expert, Senator Iroegbu noted that professionals have to play the role of think Tanks, reformers and innovators and capacity building to assist the government achieve peace and security in the country
During his Paper presentation titled ” “National security for peace and development,” Iroegbu said Nigeria’s national security and even political economic needs constant and sustained reforms. he emphasized the need to restructure the country in such a way that accommodates every group and limits dissension. “A more federal structure in practice will limit alienation and agitations,” he said.
“Nigeria needs to decentralise its security by starting with enabling laws for state and community policing. This will help improve intelligence and early warning system from even the rural communities” he added
he concluded that Transparent and Accountable Defence Budget Management is also vital in any reforms on national security towards peace and development.
The APBN Summit of professionals is the gathering across Nigeria bringing together Nigerian professionals and global leaders adding and seeking knowledge resources and opportunities in all fields
The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, APBN, is the umbrella body of all registered Professional Institutes, Institutions, Societies and Associations in Nigeria charged with the responsibility of promoting a new era of cooperation, collaboration and synergy amongst professionals’ in Nigeria.
