Corruption is Nigeria’s utmost challenge – ICPC chairman

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, has disclosed that the utmost challenge confronting Nigeria presently is corruption.

As indicated by Owasanoye, corruption was accountable for all the bad indication the nation was recognised with.

The ICPC Chairman stated this at a capacity-building workshop for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, in Abuja.

He said, “Corruption is the enemy of development and good governance. Corruption is Nigeria’s greatest challenge and is directly associated with national security challenges, current economic decline, poverty expansion, reduced life expectancy, high mortality and deteriorating livelihood experienced by citizens.”

The ICPC chairman requested for combined efforts from both state and non-state actors in confronting the problem in order to build a better Nigeria.

Owasanoye appealed to the National Assembly to set out its control powers on government agencies and departments and also its legislative control over public expenditure and audit of public accounts to efficiently curtail corruption in the public sector.

As indicated by him, “The fight against corruption is our collective responsibility and not the duty of the government alone. We must visualize the type of country and environment that we want to live in and bequeath to generations yet unborn.

“Our immediate objective is to reduce corruption in our lifetime to such an extent that it can no longer threaten our collective well-being, peace, development. The legislature can lead us to our collective vision through its constitutional mandate.”