The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has urged staff of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to live above board and take a stand against the menace of corruption.
The call was made in Kaduna recently by the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner (RACC), Prince Hassan Mohammed at a one-day sensitization programme organized by the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) of the NDE in collaboration with the ICPC.
The programme themed “Corruption in the Workplace, Nature, Causes and Effects” aimed at sensitizing the staff and management of the Directorate in all state and zonal offices of the Directorate on and against the vices of corruption, and to enlist their support in the fight against the menace.
Dr Murtala B Bankanu, who represented the RACC, explained the forms, causes and consequences of corruption in a workplace to the participants.
He also gave a rundown of the mandate of the ICPC, offences and punishments as enshrined in the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 as well as various anti-corruption strategies adopted by the Commission.
Dr Bankanu emphasised the role of individual officers in the fight against corruption and the need for the participants to lend their support to the success of government efforts to eradicate corrupt practices in government businesses.
Speaking earlier, the Director-General of the NDE, Malam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, represented by the Kaduna State Coordinator of the Directorate, Mrs Victoria Dada Williams, stated that the NDE can only achieve its objective of designing and implementing job creation programmes that will combat mass unemployment when it institutionalizes the culture of accountability and transparency in ensuring that the end users benefited from the opportunities provided by government.
In his address, the ACTU Chairman of the NDE, Alhaji Hadi Mamman emphasized that the Unit members were expected to assist and advise the Directorate to ensure probity and accountability in the implementation of its programmes, as well as monitoring effective utilisation of funds disbursed to the beneficiaries.
He expressed the hope that the sensitisation programme would strengthen the relationship between ICPC and NDE for the overall progress of the nation.
The programme was attended by the management and staff of the Directorate in the North-West zone.
