President of the Senate, Bukola
Saraki, on Wednesday, called for a non partisan approach to rescue the country
from the strangle hold of corruption.
He said this in reaction to
Nigeria’s position on Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, a
development he described as worrisome and an opportunity and challenge “to
redouble efforts geared towards the anti-corruption campaign.”
At the opening of a two-day
policy roundtable discussion on the future of the anti-corruption campaign in
Nigeria, held in Abuja, Saraki noted that the report should rather make the
country more determined to strengthen anti-corruption institutions and
processes, “so that we can fight the good fight without let or hindrance.”
His words: “If we look critically
at our system, one factor remains a constant, and that is the lack of a
sustainable plan of action for the institutions charged with responsibility in
this area.
“We can no longer point to the
fledgling nature of our democracy as justification for any ineffectiveness in
the fight against corruption.
“The tenets of anti-corruption
should be built on a platform where issues are addressed holistically and
without bias. As we approach the milestone of the second decade of Nigeria’s
Fourth Republic next year, the time is ripe – if not overdue – to work up an
achievable roadmap run by competent officials and instruments unfettered by
external or political influence or interference.
“As the legislature, we believe
that to restore our economy and society, corruption has to be combatted
frontally. It cannot be a lopsided or compromised campaign; and any
anti-corruption efforts should emanate from a well-articulated platform, the
integrity of which must be unassailable.
“I am happy to note that we have
recorded many achievements in our oversight role; and in terms of budget
transparency, we – in a historic first – opened up our Budget for public
inspection.
“The ripple effects of some of
these are, no doubt, enormous – because transparency and accountability in the
National Assembly will inevitably evolve into transparency and accountability
on the national scale, especially when we in authority know that we can be held
accountable.
“The Budget process has showcased
the drive of the Senate to eliminate the loopholes that corruption that has
consistently created in our economy. We have maintained that the national
Budget has to pass through legislative scrutiny, to guard against inconsistencies.
“And, with the many
anti-corruption Bills we have passed, I make bold to say we are matching our
words with action, to complement the Executive’s fight against corruption,” he
said.
He noted that some of the
landmark Bills already passed by the Senate to include: the Mutual Assistance
on Criminal Matters Bill – “for a framework of cooperation between Nigeria and
other countries in order to – amongst other things – facilitate the
identification, tracing, freezing, recovery, forfeiture and confiscation our
common patrimony which have been looted and stashed abroad, whether proceeds,
assets or other criminally gotten instruments.
“Other potent anti-corruption
Bills include: the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill; and the
Whistleblowers’ Bill – which provides for the protection from reprisals or
victimization of patriotic Nigerians who give information that leads to the
recovery of stolen loot.
“With these and other laws we
have passed, it is our firm belief that the 8th National Assembly has given a
much needed fillip to the anti-corruption campaign, now and into the future.
“Finally, the time has come for
us to develop a non-partisan approach towards rescuing the country from the
choke-hold of corruption.
“For our part, the National Assembly
has resolved to take up this responsibility through legislation, with the
simple mandate of sanitising the polity, thereby reducing corruption and
setting the country on the right track for economic, political and social
liberation,” he stated.
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