A Civil Society Organisation, Policy Alert, has called for stronger anti-corruption legislation in Nigeria and the review of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI to address the issues of corruption.
The Executive Director of Policy Alert, Tjah Bolton Akpan, made the call while delivering a paper in Atlanta, USA, during the 2023 International Anti-corruption Day with the theme: ‘UNCAC at 20: Uniting the World Against Corruption.”
Akpan also called for collective action in tackling corruption, regretting that despite progress, corruption remained the significant factor impeding development at both the global and local levels.
He noted, “One in five people worldwide still face bribery charges for public services and 124 countries are showing no improvement in their corruption levels.
“We call for urgent action on outstanding anti-corruption legislation, including the proposed whistleblower bill and the review of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)”
Akpan also noted some progress recorded by the existing anti-corruption legislation, especially in asset recovery, saying that the repatriation of such assets should be done in line with the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) principles.
Citing recent plans by the French government to repatriate $150 million looted funds linked to former military president, Sani Abacha to Nigeria, Akpan urged international organizations and the Nigerian states to ensure that such is done in line with the GFAR principles so that it would not reinforce the impunity of corrupt persons while further impoverish the victims of corruption.
He also urged state governments to develop and implement strong state anti-corruption strategies, regretting that some states have obtained interlocutory injunctions preventing anti-corruption agencies from investigating public officials.
“We call attention to the potential of these legal blocks to anti-corruption efforts at the sub-national level and urge concerted action to reverse the trend.” Akpan pleaded.
