From Paul Orude Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has assented to the bill passed by House of Assembly for the establishment the State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, to tackle corruption in governance.
The governor signed the bill into law at the Council Chamber, Government House, Bauchi, on Friday.
Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Ahmed Kawule, led principal officers of the House on behalf of the Speaker, Sulieman Abubakar, to the Government House to witness the signing ceremony.
In his remarks, the governor said the event marked a milestone in the drive to entrench accountability and transparency in governance.
Mohammed said the anti-corruption law takes advantage of the structure enshrined in the Constitution that gives states the latitude to duplicate functions also performed by federal institutions.
His words: “As you are all aware, there are already existing federal and state agencies that play complementary roles in the service delivery, in both the social and economic sectors. Examples of such agencies include the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), with a corresponding state agency called State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), corresponding with State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), ex cetera.
“The replication of agencies that exist at the federal level will also reduce the burden on the federal agencies thereby making them more effective and efficient.”
The governor noted that many states that had domiciled anti-corruption laws had fared better in terms of being free from corrupt manifestations.