Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has said the anti-graft agency will henceforth focus more on the activities of 36 states and 774 local governments in Nigeria as part of the commission’s enforcement and prevention actions against corrupt practices.

The agency, according to him, would look at personnel, capital, finances, procurement practices, structure of governance, corruption disposition, integrity quotient of states and local governments to identify loopholes that would be investigated, as revealed by a recent ‘system study review’ at the sub national levels. The commission was inaugurated on September 29, 2000, which is close to 20 years ago.

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Owasanoye, who disclosed this during the inauguration of the ICPC Oyo State Office in Ibadan, yesterday, said the commission has concluded plans to devolve its enforcement and prevention actions to other tiers of government in line with its statutory powers and government reform measures.

“States and local governments will feel the impact of ICPC effort in a more strategic manner to ensure that public funds are available and used for the good of the people. In this regard, we will commence with system study review at the sub national level.”

On his disposition to the Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency and if it would not conflict with functions of the ICPC, he said: “Every state has duty to try and diminish corruption within its own system, so if a state sets up an anti-corruption agency, it can only help not conflict. Mind you our staff strength as ICPC is less than 1,000. We are supposed to be in 36 states, we are in 15 states, so Oyo state will cover the contiguous states. Clearly, if the states take the initiative, it can never be too much, it can only improve the situation.”