He gave the charge in Abuja on Tuesday, at a two-day national workshop and Official Flag-off of Anti-Corruption Preventive Tools entitled “War Against Corruption at Grassroots” holding at the EFCC Academy.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday
Olukoyede, who was represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Mohammed Hammajoda, charged participants at the workshop, to leverage on their collective wisdom, experiences and insights to forge strategies and initiatives to strengthen the fight against corruption through transparency and accountability in local government administration.
“As we delve into the discussions over the next few days, let us leverage on the collective wisdom, experiences, and insights of our distinguished guests and participants. Together, we can forge strategies and initiatives that will not only strengthen the fight against corruption but also enhance transparency and accountability in our local governance structures”, he said.
He called for the radical improvement of governance at the grassroots, stating that only determined efforts against corruption would offer Nigerians a new lease of life.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, ALGON, Odunayo Ategbero, said that the prevention of corruption is better than cure, noting that a bottom-top approach in tackling corruption would offer meaningful development to Nigerians.
“Therefore, the third tier of government, which is the local government, is where corruption can be effectively prevented, because prevention is better than cure”, he said.
“The fight against corruption and other societal ills bedeviling our country is the collective responsibility of everyone in our society. Therefore, a forum like this is needed to create awareness for all and sundry to tackle corruption headlong”, he added.
He tasked the EFCC to enforce the fight against corruption at all levels of governance in Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Minister for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Zaphaniah Jisalo, commended the initiatives of the EFCC and ALGON for the workshop, and called for robust discussions, exchange of ideas and proper implementation of resolutions at the end of the workshop.
The two day workshop targeted at local government chairmen, coordinators of development area centers, local government secretaries, heads of personnel management, treasurers, local government auditors, council speakers and other workers is expected to leverage on their mobilization and sensitization for accountable and prudent management of resources at the local level.
