Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, yesterday, canvassed public ownership of the fight against corruption in the country.
Magu, while speaking during a joint briefing in Abuja with the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the media briefing was to let the public know of a new move in the prevention mandate of the commission as clearly stated in Section (6) of the EFCC Establishment Act.
Magu added that the new move was to bring to the fore and mobilise youths in the country to the task of exposing, confronting and tackling the scourge of corruption.
Magu also said youths in the country, who made up the bulk of the Nigerian population, remained the realities and strength of the future of Nigeria. Magu further said the youths were very crucial to the success of anti-corruption crusade in the country.
“In this regard, the EFCC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the NYSC, is holding a maiden ‘Nigeria Youths Walk against Corruption.’
“The walk, slated for Friday, will hold concurrently in the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“The objectives of the walk are multifarious, but most important among them are to sensitise and mobilise youths across the country to reject the evils of corrupt practices.
“To encourage youths to be anti-corruption advocates and ambassadors, enlist youths to partner with the EFCC by providing information and actionable intelligence on fraudsters,” Magu said.
Magu also said the walk will help in no small measure to organize the youths as change agents and pace-setters in integrity, even as he said the walk will assist in galvanising the energy and resourcefulness of the youths to curb corruption in the country.
He added that the NYSC would develop new modalities of youth engagements in the anti-corruption fight and added that corps members in all states of the federation would participate in the walk.
“Other interest groups, market women, civil society organizations, labour unions will join in the walk.
“I want to use this forum to appeal to every Nigerian to come out in large number and identify with the anti corruption walk,” Magu added. On his part, Shuaibu Ibrahim said the NYSC has a very wide coverage in view of the spread of the scheme across the country.
He added that there was already an anti-corruption club amongst the NYSC members, saying that the walk will build upon what the NYSC already have on ground.