ICPC revives National Anti-Corruption Volunteer Corps; as Reps urge ICPC to propose Legislation for E-Government Platforms.

NAVC which was conceived as the corps of a critical mass of volunteers who would be the foot soldiers nationwide in the fight against corruption had to be disbanded several years ago when some state chapters of the initiative began to engage in unwholesome activities.

Speaking at the re-inauguration of the Delta and Abia State chapters in line with the revival of the Corps, the Chairman of ICPC, represented by the National Coordinator of NAVC, Mr. Mike Sowe, explained that ICPC, had to disband the structures because rather than pursue the ideals of NAVC, some state chapter coordinators turned it into a Para-military organization, carrying out indiscriminate arrests; interrogating and even putting people in detention for allegedly engaging in corrupt practices  when they were not empowered to do such by any law or ICPC.

He said the volunteer corps, as one of the anti-corruption tools aimed at giving Nigerians interested in the anti-corruption campaign the opportunity of joining as  volunteers, has been re-branded and restructured in such a way that there would be checks and safeguards at the local government, state and national levels.

“The mission for establishing the Corps was to create opportunities for partnership with individuals and groups towards the eradication of corruption in Nigeria”, he added.

The inauguration of executive members of the NAVC in the states was done immediately after elections were conducted in both Abia and Delta states.

On their part, the new state coordinators for Delta and Abia chapters, Comrade Frank Omoile Onyeka and Rev. Blessed U. Amalamba, respectively assured the Commission of their readiness to work according to operational guidelines of the new NAVC.

Meanwhile, the leadership of ICPC has been urged to propose legislation to the National Assembly that will give a legal framework to the e-government platforms operational in the country.

The House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Finance, Hon. Babangida Ibrahim, made this plea recently in Abuja during the Validation Meeting of Report of the Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) of Nigeria’s E-Government Systems conducted by ICPC.

Hon Ibrahim, who was represented by the Member, representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Dennis Nnamdi Agbo was speaking against the backdrop of the finding that the e-government platforms were not backed by any act of the parliament to guide implementation.

He showered praises on government for the adoption of e-government platforms which are: Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), Treasury Single Account (TSA).

The House Committee Chairman said the introduction of the e-payment systems has saved the country huge resources that would have been fraudulently diverted by corrupt individuals. He revealed that prior to the innovation, the cost of governance in Nigeria, especially recurrent expenditure, had been disproportionally high and therefore appealed to ICPC to ensure the sustainability of the platforms by sending a bill to the National Assembly, pledging the support of the law-makers in the speedy passage of the bill.

Earlier, in his welcome address, ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, who was represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Elvis Oglafa, pointed out that the conduct of CRA on Nigeria’s electronic financial and personnel governance systems was in “pursuit of the Federal Government’s effort to entrench transparency and accountability in governance.”

Mr. Nta also stressed that for the nation to make significant progress, it was imperative for management and employees to embrace the e-system to mitigate the dangers of doing things manually.

In her presentation on the Overview of the CRA of Nigeria’s E-Government Platforms, ICPC Spokesperson and Director Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, explained that CRA was neither a criminal investigation nor an indictment but a corrective exercise aimed at assessing the weaknesses in policies, procedures, processes etc. of a system which may create opportunities for corrupt practices.

Some of the risk factors she alluded to in her findings include: lack of any specific legal framework governing the operations of the platforms; the conceptualization of platforms without the input of some critical stakeholders; and resistance among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as some commercial banks to the full adoption of the new system, among others

The Commission’s Spokesperson also observed that in spite of the successes of the e-government platforms, there were still challenges which could present a new corruption opportunity through the monopolisation of access and control by those with information technology skills.

Representatives of other critical stakeholders such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, etc. allayed the fears hitherto entertained by MDAs and individuals that there were hidden charges associated with the operations of the platforms even as they all called for more awareness to be created among stakeholders.