Activist Wants Anti-Graft Agencies To Be Proactive

The Executive Director, Conscience Nigeria, an NGO, Mr Tosin Adeyanju, last Sunday called on anti-graft agencies to be more proactive in the fight against corruption in the country.

Adayanju made the call while reacting to the Transparency International (TI) Report on Corruption Perceptions Index 2013, in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

Our correspondent recalls that TI lastTuesday ranked Nigeria as 144th most corrupt nation in the world out of the 177 countries the report focused on.

In 2012, Nigeria was ranked 124th most corrupt nation among the less than 170 countries studied.

He said the poor ranking of Nigeria was a wake up call to the EFCC and ICPC to renew their strategies and commitment toward combating the menace of corruption.

Adeyanju said: “A lot still needs to be done by the agencies saddled with the responsibility of getting public thieves arrested and prosecuted.”

He renewed calls for the establishment of special courts to handle corruption cases to facilitate speedy disposal of the cases.

The activist also stressed the need for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to sanction judges who failed to quickly dispose off cases of graft before them.

The executive director urged federal and state legislators to take their oversight functions seriously, so as to block leakages, enhance transparency and accountability in ministries, department, agencies and parastatals (MDAs).

“We call on the National Assembly to pay more attention to their oversight functions to make good governance work for the citizens rather than engaging in self serving legislations.“

Adeyanju appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to allocate more funds to anti-corruption agencies to build their capacities to ensure effectiveness in the fight against corruption in the country.