NGO Urges Collaboration To Tackle Corruption

A Non-Governmental
Organisation (NGO), CLEEN Foundation in Rivers State has called for collaboration between members of the society and several agencies to check corruption in the society.
Speaking during a one-day workshop in Port Harcourt on reporting corruption using stop-the-bribes platform, the CLEEN’s program officer Mr. Ifeanyi Ayanwu said that bribery and corruption is one of the major obstacles to the economic development of any country.
“If corruption can be fully eradicated in the country, the security education and all other sectors of the country will improve.
The stop-the-bribes net website receives reports through text messages and other online sources from the public on corrupt acts by officials both from the public and private sectors,” he said.
Ayanwu noted that the aim of the platform was to identify centres where bribes are sourced before provisions of services while centres where services are rendered with integrity would be lauded.
He also said that the platform provides space to narrate individual experiences of corrupt inducement from the public through videos, audios and pictures uploaded by the website.
According to him Stop- The-Bribes network is a user friendly platform developed to track cases of lower level corruption by law enforcement and public officials but hides the identity of the person reporting.
“Stop corruption in Nigeria begins with the individuals. If everybody can discipline themselves and always say no to demands of bribe and avoiding asking for bribe, then the level of corruption will reduce drastically,” he said.
He also urged the public not to give any false report, because investigation are usually carried out on each report given and due punishment would be accorded to anyone who gives false report.

Benice Ira