Nairaland Forum

nti-corruption initiatives of the Fourth Republic

The government of the Fourth Republic took charge of a country which at various times under Generals Babangida and Abacha had been ranked as the first, second or third most corrupt country of those surveyed by Transparency International. In his swearing-in address as President of the Fourth Republic on April 29, 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo stated his administration’s commitment to fight corruption. He declared that there would be no sacred cows. Later, he sent a bill to the National Assembly: the bill was passed and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) was established to administer the act. However, many national and international experts have since argued that the act and the commission are dormant. Moreover, Nigerians themselves do not believe that the ICPC is effective.13

"Under Generals Babangida and Abacha, (Nigeria) had been ranked as the first, second or third most corrupt country of those surveyed by Transparency International."

A second anti-corruption initiative of Obasanjo’s civilian administration was the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), established to combat advance fee fraud, popularly known as “419” (Section 419 of Nigeria’s criminal code deals with fraud-related offenses). This commission has succeeded in arresting and prosecuting several corrupt Nigerians. Many argue that the EFCC is more efficient than the ICPC. However, it is important to stress that the EFCC is also better funded, having benefited from the transfer of £3 million that the British Government repatriated from a Nigerian caught in Britain. Related to the work of the EFCC, the federal government has also set up the Price Intelligence and Due Process Office in the presidency to monitor the awards of contracts and to ensure value for money in all contracts.

A third major initiative has been the decentralization of anti-corruption programmes to the state and local levels. The fiscal relations that existed among the three levels of government (federal, state and local) before the Fourth Republic led state and local governments to see anti-corruption campaigns as a federal matter. Now, however, there are anti-corruption committees like the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in both state and national assemblies as well as anti-corruption units or departments in various ministries and in parastatals like the Nigerian Port Authority and Nigerian Freight Forwarders. Other anti-corruption units are found in police forces and customs. In Lagos State, for example, the police command has a monitoring unit that checks the activities of all police officers in the state. Some who have been found guilty of bribery or other corrupt practices have been dismissed.

Some professional bodies in the country have also introduced anti-corruption measures. For example, the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria, the Medical Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, etc, have instituted disciplinary bodies that deal with members who are guilty of corruption or act against the ethics of their profession.

At the international level, the Nigerian Government is part of an anti-corruption drive called the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), introduced by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The message is that governments should declare to the public all payments they receive from all extractive industries.

In addition to the programmes of Obasanjo’s government, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria itself contains elaborate provisions for ensuring transparency, accountability and good governance.

While all of these provisions and initiatives are laudable, commitment to implementation remains the big problem for the Nigerian Government, for corruption as a major practice has been confirmed under the leadership of President Obasanjo. In the Auditor General’s report for the year 2001, for example, most of the ministries and parastatals together with the three arms of government were found to be corrupt.14

"While all of these provisions and initiatives are laudable, commitment to implementation remains the big problem for the Nigerian Government."

That was then, this is now; PDP = Corruption. They work side by side now, no?

Go and sit down that was then! This now I taught some people said PDP didn't achieve anything since 12years