CISLAC Urges FG to Strengthen Anti-Corruption Reforms and Corporate Accountability
ZAINAB JUNAID
In a bid to reduce the extent of damage caused by corruption in the society, Executive Director of the Civil Society and Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's led administration to adopt anti-corruption reforms that will help curb the menace that has become a cankerworm disease which has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigeria.
Mr Auwal made this call on Monday in Lagos, while fielding questions with our correspondent at the ongoing two-day Civil Society Organisation (CSO) and media training centered on sensitising participants on the use of Beneficial Ownership Information to improve natural resource governance in Nigeria.
The training, scheduled to hold between Monday 26 and Tuesday 27th of June 2023 was organised by the Accountability in Extractive Sector (AES) that is the Oil and Gas sector, cluster in partnership with the Niger-Delta Open Government Partnership Observatory (NOGO) and the Media Initiative for Transparency in Extractive Industries (MITEI), the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project with funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implemented by Palladium.
Mr Rafsanjani, who is also the Head of Transparency International - Nigeria and the Chairman Board of Trustee, Amnesty International - Nigeria; as well as the Chairman Transition Monitoring Group, charged the government not to limit itself to sacking of Service Chiefs or Appointment of new ones but to ensure it blocks all leakages and promotes more of accountability and transparency in governance.
His words, "We expect the new government to not only sack the Service Chiefs but has to ensure it blocks leakages and expand greater accountability and transparency in governance and must provide basic infrastructure facilities for the citizens in terms of quality health system, standard education and infrastructure.
"We expect government to ensure that waste, duplication and diversion of public funds is not experienced again. Competent and qualified Nigerians should be considered in the new appointments.
"Justice, fairness and equity should be institutionalized within the governance in the country at all levels. However on subsidy removal, the proceeds should be used to invest in health care system, water, education as well as quality infrastructure especially in the energy sector that will pave way for more job opportunities to many citizens."
The activist further opined that the new government needs to adopt concrete policy/ legal framework that will help reshape the country.
"The appointments by the new government is welcomed but we need to see more of security sector reform, concrete policies or legal framework because there is need to deal with the corruption in that sector."
However, in his opening remarks at the training session, CISLAC Chief maintained that it was in recognition of the crucial role of the media as the fourth pillar of democracy and the need to strengthen the capacity of the media to perform their traditional roles as watchdogs of the society; the need to build local stakeholders’ capacity on the importance of quality and timely beneficial ownership data, and to share skills, tools and methodologies to analyse and use the data, brought about the training.
The Accountability in Extractive Sector (AES) cluster anchored by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), comprises Better Community Life Initiative (BECOLIN) in Imo state; Community Conciliation and Development Initiative (CCADI) in Port-Harcourt, Rivers state; Connected Advocacy for Empowerment & Youth Development Initiative (Connected Advocacy) in Edo state; Good Governance Team (GGT) Nigeria in Abuja-FCT; Institutional and Sustainable Development Foundation (ISDF) in Abuja-FCT; International Centre for Women Empowerment and Child Development (ICWECD) in Delta state; Policy Alert in Akwa-Ibom state; Social Development Integrated Center (Social Action) in Abuja-FCT/Rivers state; Speak Out Africa Initiative in Abuja-FCT; and Support for Training and Entrepreneurship Program (STEP) in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state.
