TheCable

Agwadza Atedze, a judge of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has queried the use of public funds to buy vehicles for politicians.

Atedze said this on Thursday at the launch of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s (SERAP) latest report titled: ‘Combating Grand Corruption and Impunity in Nigeria: An Agenda for Institutional Reforms in Anti-Corruption Strategies’.

He counselled to research the issues “to see how best we can reconcile our social and cultural values viz-a-viz the entire war against corruption and advise our policymakers accordingly.”

The report is published under a project to promote justice sector and anti-corruption oversight mechanism reform.

Dauda Joki-Lasisi, head of procurement and fraud section of the EFCC, who represented the agency at the report launch said the fight against corruption can be likened to an allegory of a “giant in the midst of ants, as little as an ant is, it may not be able to wear the trouser of a giant, but will remove it.”

Olufemi Nofiu, head of ICPC in Lagos and T. Collins who represented Sam Saba, chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), promised to do anything and everything within their powers to curb corruption in the country.

Babatunde Ogala, chairman of the report launch, said corruption is “simply a way of life for us all, it is deep when you steal as a religious institution, you are as corrupt as any Nigerian.

“In my opinion, corruption is both cultural and religious, corruption is as big as this country, the way of curbing it is by changing our national orientation.”

“The EFCC ought to have offices even at the local government level. The society itself encourages and invests in corruption. As a legislator, I was constantly measured by what I did for individuals and not by the amount of law making I engaged in.”

All the anti-graft agencies present at the event renewed their commitment to work even harder to end the problem of grand corruption in the country and end its devastating consequences.