In a bid to ensure that the anti-corruption war of the federal government takes a firm root, the Coalition of Anti-corruption Civil Society Organizations, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to imposed stiffer sanction on corrupt public and private sector officials found guilty of graft, while private sector officials should be made to comply with asset declaration requirement of the Code of Conduct Bureau as it affects their professions, just as political appointees are compelled to do.
In a communiqué issued and signed by Messrs. Eze Nwagwu, Olanrewaju Suraju and Mohammed Attah at the end of its meeting held in Abuja, the gathering which was organized by the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), also noted President Buhari should immediately declare his assets publicly, stating that the declaration will give credence to the anti-graft war in the country.
The communiqué reads: “After exhaustive deliberations on the factors militating against effective war against corruption in spite of the efforts of the institutions established to fight the endemic social monster, the coalition resolved as follows:
That the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari should publicly declare his asset forthwith, in line with his campaign promise to do so within the first 100 days in office. This, the group noted has become necessary for the anti-corruption agenda of the Buhari administration to be taken seriously by Nigerians and the international community.
“That the federal government and the anti-graft agencies should investigate members of the Bar and the Bench accused of corruption; and prosecute and jail anyone found guilty of corruption charges.
“That, to totally rid the country from the scourge of corruption, the campaign against corruption must be localized. Cases of corruption at the local level, in many instances, ruined several localities and jeopardize the necessary human and material development while the nation focuses more on high profile corruption cases.”
While urging the media to take up the challenge of beaming more searchlights on corruption in the Nigerian society and strive harder to sustain the struggle; the coalition noted that, the media practitioners must first purge itself of the evil of corruption with a view to putting an end to corrupt practices in the profession.
“That rather than castigate the institutions with anti-graft mandate, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerians should encourage and support the agencies in view of challenges faced which might not be known to the public.
“The coalition made a strong case for financial and prosecutorial independence as well as security of tenure for the agencies.
“That leadership of the National Assembly be engaged by the Civil Society to demand transparency, openness, accountability and respect for the FoI law in its operations and resource management.
“The National Assembly is called upon to formulate policies and conduct oversight functions to promote accountability, transparency, service delivery and development and not conspire with MDAs in mismanagement of funds and corruption.
“That the policy direction and philosophy of the 8th Assembly of both Chambers of the National Assembly must be geared towards complementing the public mood for Change and the Executives initiated agenda for sustainable fight against corruption and independence of the anti-Corruption Agencies.
“That the president should as a matter of urgency, as promised in his “covenant with Nigerians”, constitute and inaugurate a board for the National Council for Public procurement.
“That the platform be sustained and converted to “Corruption Situation Room” for periodic review and analysis of policies, programmes, action, failure and inaction of the government and its agencies,” the communiqué reads.
