From Paul Orude Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed has signed the bill to establish the State Public Complaints and Anti Corruption Commission to tackle corruption in governance.
The bill, enacted by the State House of Assembly in September, was accented to by the governor 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 Government House to sign the Public Complaints and Anti Corruption Commission bill.
In his remark, Governor Mohammed 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 latitude to duplicate functions also performed of federal institutions.
“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” he said.
“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, excetra.
“The replication in the state of agencies i that also exist at the federal level will also reduce the burden on the federal agencies thereby making them more effective and efficient.
“Similarly the state agencies being close to the people, and more conversant with the local culture, traditional and terrain and better placed to handle local issues, especially in the areas of security, investigation and prosecution of offences”
He explained that the anti- corruption Commission would provide employment opportunities for youths in the state thereby addressing security challenges and immediately tackling issues arising thereof.
The governor noted many states have domiciled anti corruption laws have fared better in terms of being free from corrupt manifestations.
Mohammed was happy that Bauchi has joined states that have signed the anti-corrupt laws in the country.
“The state anti corruption Commission will handle corruption sleaze at the state level due to the size of the country and unbundled ,the EFCC and other federal agencies,” he said.
He expressed regret that most cases were submitted to the anti -corruption agencies at the federal level have not been addressed.
“There are several cases that have been submitted by public-spirited individuals and organizations but still they are not investigated and we are not making anything out of it till date,” he lamented.
“There are many cases with the ICPC and the EFCC, and most of the investigative agencies.
“With the establishment of the state anti corruption Commission therefore, no case of corruption will be overlooked at the state and the local government levels.
“We have really studied all the already existing laws in the states and the federal agencies to ensure that there was no conflict.
“We are doing it in furtherance of what is been agreed at the Governors Forum that such things should be done at the state level so that we can bring our enforcement and fight corruption in consonant with the drive of the current administration”
He hoped that the State Public Complaint and Anti- corruption Commission would be used to address micro and macro cases of corruption in governance so that resources would be made available for service delivery.
The Governor thanked the State lawmakers for being proactive, assured that the legal and administrative framework would be given to the Commission to operate by universal and established commission.
Earlier,the Deputy Speaker disclosed that the anti-graft bill was forwarded to at the House in September, 2022.
“Understanding the importance of this bill, we committed it to the House Committee on public complaints which did the necessary scrutiny,” he said.
Kawuwa said Public Hearings were conducted with relevant organisations while resource personnel with relevant ideas on anti- corruption and related matters were also consulted.
“Finally this bill has scaled the third reading and was enacted to become a law and we are here before you for your accent,” the Deputy Speaker said.