Prof. Muhammed Isah, Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau, has stressed the need to extent the fight against corruption to the attractive industry.
He stated this on Monday at a high level seminar organised by the Anti -Corruption Inter-Agency Task Team to commemorate the 2019 International Anti Corruption Day in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the day is observed annually on Dec. 9 to raise awareness on corruption and to support positive and pro-active stance against corruption with the theme, “United Against Corruption.“
According Isah, corruption cannot be completely fought without focusing on the natural resources of the nation.
He said that it was important to check corruption in the attractive industry, adding that that funds from this sector remained important for the infrastructure development needed in the country.
“Fighting corruption is not restricted to a particular country or continent because most developed nations look up to the African continent for their raw materials whose about 70 per cent of these raw materials remain untapped.
“The bulk of every developing nation lies on its resources and if these resources are being diverted, it will not go down well for that country.
“The mining industry is the bedrock of every industrial development and it is important to check what is going on in the extracting industry.
“However, if these resources are being diverted by way of syndicated organised crime, you will find out that such nation cannot be among the nations aspiring to be developed.
“Even if there is a GDP growth on the pages of the newspapers, the people of that nation on the other hand, will continue to suffer because wealth will not reach out to them,” he said.
NAN reports that the event was organised in collaboration with the European Union, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme.
Others are: UNODC, MacArthur Foundation, Centre for Democracy and Development and the United States Embassy.(NAN)
