Pulse.ng : Group commends NPA, NARICT, MoE for good performance in 2022 ICPC ethics, integrity report

Reports by Sani Idris

The Coalition of Arewa Youths for Zero Corruption, has commended the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), National Research Institute of Chemical Techology (NARIC), and Federal Ministry of Education (MoE) for their performance in the 2022 ICPC ethics and integrity report.

The commendation was contained in a statement issued to journalists on Monday in Abuja by the National Coordinator of the coalition, Mallam Aliyu Mohammed.

According to him, NPA, NARICT and MoE, had performed exceedingly well in the 2022 Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission's (ICPC) 2022 Integrity Report despite challenges and distractions from within and outside their organisations.

Muhammed, also, described the high performance of certain ministries, parastatals and agencies they have been monitoring and engaging with, as highly exceptional.

He added that they have shown to the whole world that a corrupt free Nigeria is possible.

He explained that they had expected that agencies such as the NARICT, MoE and NPA would be indicted due to the numerous running battles they had with their host communities and stakeholders from within and outside.

"To our greatest surprise, they complied fully with the ICPC integrity test with outstanding results.

"As transparency ambassadors, we call on other agencies, parastatals and ministries who either failed the integrity test or did not respond to the enquiry possibly for fear of indictment to emulate them and follow their template for fighting corruption.

"They should be chosen and appointed as transparency consultants so that they can share their secrets and strategies with other organisations,"Muhammed said.

The coalition however, expressed displeasure with some top government agencies, ministries and agencies that have been listed as High Corruption Risk (HCR) as highlighted by the ICPC in the 2022 Integrity Report released via its twitter page on the 12th of January 2023

"It is appalling that despite the anti-corruption stance of the present adminstration, some 52 MDAs were classified as having ‘High Corruption Risk (HCR)’ by the ICPC. Their failure to respond to an Ethics and Integrity (EICS) enquiry filed by the commission in the year 2022 can best be described as complicity and a desperate attempt to hide their unethical practices," he said.

He therefore, called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other security agencies to immediately swing into action and sanction organisations whose ranking on the Integrity Report was very low to serve as a deterrent to others.

While commending President Muhammadu Buhari's led government and ICPC for doing a professional and timely audit into the performance of MDAs, the group insisted that agencies that failed to comply with the Ethics and Integrity Enquiry and those that performed very poorly in key performance indicators like the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to be compelled, using all legal instruments available to enforce their compliance.

"No stone must be left unturned in the fight to finish and eradicate corruption in Nigeria,"Mohammed said.