Can he Fight Corruption in Nigeria
Can Nigeria ever win the fight against Corruption in Nigeria? Well let us just watch and see what the Government President Umaru Yar’Adua will do. Will electoral reforms help in the fight against corruption in Nigeria. Let’s have your comment.
EFCC Launches Global Campaign against Corruption
To underline the global fight against corruption, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday revealed that it had secured 296 convictions in the last five years.
The commission, headed by Mrs. Farida Waziri, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, has also recovered assets worth $5.6 billion and is set to launch its Anti Corruption Revolution Campaign (ANCOR) in Abuja today.
The anti-corruption strides, outlined in a statement issued by the Commission’s Head, Media & Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, came to light as the world marked the International Day Against Corruption all over the world yesterday.
The 296 convictions secured by EFCC in the last five years, bordered on corruption, money laundering, advance fee fraud, bank fraud, pipeline vandalism among others. Aside the assets worth $5.6 billion, which had been recovered in the years under review, Farida also revealed that there are over 15 cases involving Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in various stages of prosecution in the courts.
Also, the United Nation’s Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, at the occasion, emphasised the need to strengthen integrity by every individual across the globe in a bid to fight the dragon of corruption.
Speaking through the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Daguar Thomas, he appealed to governments and financial institutions to do more to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity.
“On this International Day, let us all do our part to strengthen integrity, play by the rules, and turn the tide against this global menace,” he urged.
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, like Ki-moon, also urged Nigerians to continue to shun corrupt practices. He restated his government’s commitments to the anti-corruption war and admitted that legal and institutional mechanisms were crucial in tackling corruption.
To achieve this, he promised to strengthen all anti-corruption agencies and urged all stakeholders in the war to imbibe values of courage, impartiality and determination in order to achieve lasting success in the fight.
Speaking at a forum convened in Abuja to mark the 2008 International Day Against Corruption, Waziri reiterated her Commission’s commitment to the continued prosecution of the war against corrupt practices; notwithstanding some challenges being posed to the quest for a corrupt-free Nigeria.
The EFCC boss, according to Babafemi, bared her mind on some challenges arising from long prosecution time in the courts, a situation, she said, was making the wheel of justice grind slowly. She also expressed worries over the slowness in obtaining judgments in corruption cases as against advance fee fraud cases.
“It remains a puzzle that advance fee fraud cases are speedily tried and judgments rendered but not so with corruption cases. One challenge therefore that we need to urgently address is how to bring corruption cases to quick conclusion in the courts,” she said.
In addition to the planned campaign launch, the anti-corruption boss is pushing for a speedy passage of a bill on Non-conviction based Asset Regime, which, to her, might save the situation for the recovery of assets under investigation by the EFCC. She urged the National Assembly to expedite actions on the passage of the bill.
Besides, Waziri is disturbed by the increasing spate of granting ex-parte injunctions by some courts in a bid to restrain anti-corruption bodies, including the EFCC from performing their statutory responsibilities.
This tendency, she feared, might continue to pose serious hindrance to the fight against corruption. “If suspects cannot even be invited to offer explanations to allegations of wrong doing, then we cannot pretend to be fighting corruption,” she stated.
She also pointed out that the rule of law was not immunity against criminality and so suspects should desist from rushing to the court to obtain injunctions by hiding under the rule of law.
“The rule of law does not protect criminality. On the contrary, it is totally against it. It is therefore wrong for suspects to attempt to blackmail the anti-graft agencies under the pretext that they respect the rule of law and the agencies do not,” she warned.
In spite of these challenges however, Waziri vowed that the EFCC remained focused, undaunted and more committed to the fight against corrupt practices.
She, according to the statement, is not alone in seeking ways out of the corruption trap which the nation has found itself.
Other stakeholders in the anti-corruption war such as the UNODC; Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms, TUGAR; Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI; Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC; Nigeria Police; Code of Conduct Bureau; Pubic Complaints Commission, spoke variously through their representatives on ways of getting Nigeria out of the corruption tunnel.
Meanwhile, the EFCC is billed to launch the Anti-Corruption Revolution campaign in Abuja today.
The campaign, code-named: ANCOR, is envisioned to make all Nigerians take an active and determined stand against corruption in their public and private dealings.
Some objectives of ANCOR include: sensitising and educating all Nigerians on corruption and its negative effects on their daily lives; mobilising opinion leaders and all Nigerians both within and outside the country against corrupt tendencies and practices.
Others include creating a sustained multi-stakeholder movement for integrity in the public and private spheres through the establishment of a network of volunteers in all communities, local government areas, states, Federal Capital Territory and among Nigerians in Diaspora.
Important core values of ANCOR are meant to make all Nigerians buy into the anti-corruption war thereby ensuring public ownership of the war. Some of these values are Integrity; Inclusiveness and Non-partisanship; Accessibility; Accountability and Transpa-rency; Patriotism and Courage; Fairness and Respect for Human Rights, Volunteerism and Dignity.
The event is to be attended by President Yar’Adua, Vice- President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker and state governors.
Attendees are also to be drawn from the federal cabinet, local government councils, military and para-military top brass, chief executive officers of parastatals, captain of industries, business moguls, academia, traditional and religious institutions, grass-roots organisations, professional and civil society organisations across Nigeria.
The event, holding at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja is to be chaired by Alhaji Yusuff Maitama-Sule (Dan Masanmin Kano).
President of Ghana, Mr. John Kufour, is also to deliver a keynote address entitled: The Imperatives of Citizens Involvement In Anti-Corruption Crusade.
ANCOR, according to Babafemi, is coming at a crucial juncture in the life of Nigeria.
“It could not have come at a better time than now when Nigeria is positioning herself to emerge as one of the 20 biggest economies by the Year 2020.
“The challenge of graft and rising global attention to transparency and integrity make it doubly imperative for a developing nation like Nigeria to take a firm position in favour of accountability and probity both in private and public lives. This is the imperative the EFCC is responding to and it is the thrust of ANCOR that will be launched on Wednesday,” Babafemi stated.Source: Thisdayonline
Electoral Reforms: Uwais Committee Recommends ‘Option A4′
Option A4, the modified open ballot system which produced Nigeria’s freest and fairest election in 1993, has been recommended by the Electoral Reforms Committee (ERC) as the best for future polls that would, once and for all, stop embedded rigging.
There was no complaint of manipulation in that Presidential election 15 years ago, which all the principal actors have conceded was won by the late Moshood Abiola, but quashed by former military President, Ibrahim Babangida.
The raft of proposals made by the ERC also include yanking the appointment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman from Aso Rock and handing it over to the National Judicial Council (NJC) which is presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The ERC, headed by former Chief Justice Mohammed Uwais, is expected to submit its report to President Umaru Yar’Adua on Thursday.
Option A4 involves a series of party caucuses and voting, progressing from council to state and national levels.
Yar’Adua inaugurated the ERC on August 28 last year to devise an enduring electoral process with internationally acceptable standards, an initiative which drew wide acclaim.
It was his response to the rigging in the 2007 general election.
As done currently, the ERC recommended that the appointment of the INEC Chairman should be confirmed by the Senate and that he should not be removed from office except by a two-thirds majority of the Senate.
It wants funding for the INEC to be by first line charge not subject to the whims and caprices of Aso Rock.
This would remove the control of the INEC from the President who could use his powers to fund it to serve his personal political motive.
The ERC canvassed that the change should affect appointments in the judiciary as well, in order to guarantee the independence of the judiciary; though, as many observers have pointed out, the NJC as presently constituted has a predominantly Northern membership.
It also recommended that the operational command of police be taken away from the President, who could appoint the Inspector General of Police – but the appointment has to be confirmed by the Senate without the possibility of sack except by a two-thirds majority of the Senate.
Another recommendation is the creation of an Electoral Offences Commission (EOC), headed by a retired Judge, which will prosecute electoral offenders in the manner financial crime is prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Some of the recommendations are expected to be incorporated into the Constitution amendment exercise.
The ERC, which winds up on December 15, had been widely expected to conclude its consideration on the new structure of the NEC and the party system last week.
There was speculation that some of the proposals in the interim report the panel submitted to Yar’Adua would form the bulk of the final recommendations.
“Nigerians were unanimous in expressing their concern on the deficiencies and lack of independence of the electoral commissions at both the federal and state levels,” Uwais had told him.
“Accordingly, we are drawing detailed recommendations to address the focal issues of the composition, the administrative autonomy and funding of the electoral commissions.”
In May, Senate President, David Mark, gave assurances that the Joint Constitution Review Committee (JCRC) will work together with all interest groups, especially the ERC, to ensure that all grey areas in the Constitution are addressed.
Source: Daily Independent
With the conclusion of the work of the ERC the hope looks bright for free and fair elections, and a transparent Electoral Commission.
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