ICPC partners Oyo Auditor-General in anti-corruption fight
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has described auditors as gatekeepers of government institutions and important stakeholders in the fight against corruption.
The ICPC Commissioner for Oyo and Ogun states, Mr Stephen Pimor, stated this on Wednesday, while on a courtesy visit to the Oyo State Auditor-General, Mr Aweda Adewola, at the State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Pimor said that the visit was in furtherance of the collaboration between major stakeholders in the anti- corruption fight.
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“It is the auditors that will point to facts. If they see any irregularity, especially in financial transactions and official documents, they will point it out.
“Also, if there is anything going wrong, it behooves on the auditors to be able to identify it and make necessary correction.
“By doing so, the dividends of governance will be more accounted for by those they are entrusted to.
“If there is rampant corruption in government departments, it simply means that the auditors are not living up to their expectations,” he said.
On corruption in the civil service, the ICPC commissioner said that the commission would prosecute any civil servant who had overstayed in service.
“The moment we get credible information about any civil servant, who has spent his/her mandatory 35 years in service or has reached the 60 years retirement age but still remains in service, we are going to work on it and make sure that such a person is sanctioned.
“If anyone has served his/her period in the civil service of Oyo state, as stipulated by law and we find out that such an individual falsifies his/her age, immediate action will be taken against such an individual,” Pimor stated.
He commended the auditor-general for his openness and integrity as a gatekeeper, describing him as the eye of the government.
In his response, the auditor-general expressed appreciation to the ICPC team for the visit and promised to collaborate with the commission in its efforts at putting a stop to corrupt practices.
“I see ICPC as a sister body that we should work hand-in-hand with to put a stop to or drastically reduce corruption within the system.
“Our main problem in Nigeria is corruption; corruption is not only financial; even before financial corruption is committed, you must have first abused your office,” Adewola said.
He further stated that Gov. Seyi Makinde had said that permanent secretaries and heads of non-ministerial offices were the accounting officers in their respective MDAs.
“This means that whatever happens in any MDA, the permanent secretaries or whoever heads the place will be made accountable.
“With this, the governor has given us power and pushed us on the need for us to live up to expectation.
“My promise to ICPC is that any legitimate information they want from us in the course of any corruption investigation will be provided,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that among the ICPC team were Mrs Faustina Adeoluwa, Head of Legal Unit as well as Andrew Kunlere, Kunle Balogun, Dele Raji and Mrs Mayowa Olaniyan, all investigators.
The post ICPC partners Oyo Auditor-General in anti-corruption fight appeared first on Vanguard News.
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