Anti-graft war on civil service’ll boost economy –UNDP

  The Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme to Nigeria, Pa Lamin Beyai, says if the civil service can be rid of corruption, there will be an improvement in the ease of doing business in Nigeria and this will in turn boost the economy.

Beyai spoke through the UNDP Deputy Country Director-Programme, Mandisa Mashologu, at the Training of Trainers on Corruption Risk Assessments which held at the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, a training wing of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, located at Keffi, Nasarawa State, on Monday.

He expressed optimism that the anti-corruption crusade of the Federal Government would help reduce the incidence of corruption in Nigeria.

Beyai said, “As you are all aware, in the 2015 Corruption Perception Index by the Transparency International which measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 168 countries, Nigeria ranked 136th, lower than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Tackling corruption remains a top priority of the government as one of means to facilitate efficient delivery of public services and enhance national development opportunities.

“The process has resulted in ongoing institutional reforms which are already yielding positive results. We believe that an efficient and effective public service can positively contribute to the ease of doing business in Nigeria and act as a stimulant to curb corrupt practices.”

The Provost of ACAN, Prof. Sola Akinrinade, who declared the training open on behalf of the ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, said that the establishment of the academy was in line with the commission’s determination to fulfil its enlightenment and education functions in systematic and sustainable way to achieve long-term impact in the national war against corruption.

He said, “At the academy, we do not subscribe to the widespread notion that fighting corruption in Nigeria is a lost cause. Our philosophy is that corruption and related crimes can be controlled or managed through a system of training and re-training, geared towards sound policy formulation, operational efficiency and good management culture.”