Create Anti-Corruption Agencies In States, CISLAC Tells Governors’ Forum

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has called on the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to push for the creation of anti-corruption agencies in the 36 states.

Speaking at a workshop for representatives of state-led anti-graft agencies, Executive Director, Musa Rafsanjani, said in a statement yesterday that creating anti-corruption agencies in states would help fight corruption effectively.

Rafsanjani noted corruption threatens sustainable development and ethical values and justice, and endangers the rule of law.

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“It is imperative anti-corruption efforts are replicated and implemented at the state level and beyond.”

He said: “We believe it is imperative anti-graft agencies and stakeholders develop partnerships aimed at providing synergy in our work which will make it yield better results in the interest of Nigerians and Nigeria.”

CISLAC’s Senior Legal Officer, Bathsheba Tagwai, said the workshop would explore legal frameworks of existing agencies with a view to strengthening their capacity for institutionalizing anti-corruption efforts at the sub-national level.

Tagwai noted the workshop was also an advocacy for the replication of state-level anti-corruption agencies in other states.

According to her, following the example of Kano and Oyo, more states are constituting independent anti-corruption commissions.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecution at Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Jonathan Ogunsanya, said the state had enacted laws to establish its anti-corruption agencies, adding the process towards putting a proper structure is in motion.

He lamented that too much emphasis is given to the legal framework for anti-corruption, saying what was necessary at the moment was more of ethics and value re-orientation.

Chief Legal Officer of Oyo Anti-Corruption Agency, Olayanju Efo-Abasi, stressed the need for states to develop independent anti-corruption agencies, noting doing so would strengthen the fight against corruption.