Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Ekpo Nta, as underscored the need to strengthen democratic institutions to enable the nation to move forward.
Nta, who said this at a three-day Strategic Action Plan Implementation retreat in Kaduna, added that the effort would enable the institutions to deliver on their mandate.
He said that the commission’s action plan launched in 2013, was designed to enable the commission to achieve set goals.
“By the end of 2017, the life cycle of the plan will come to an end after five years of implementation.
“Incidentally, this is coming in a year when Nigeria has painstakingly approved a National Anti-corruption Strategy 2017 to 2020.
“The strategy takes anti-corruption agencies framework for monitoring and evaluation seriously.”
He explained that the retreat was held to establish the connection between where the commission was, where it is, and where it hopes to be.
He said the retreat would provide an opportunity for the commission to interrogate performance in anti-corruption issues, share pertinent knowledge and inspire individuals to take serious leadership management values.
“If we must move forward as a nation, then we must continue to maintain our principle of strengthening our democratic institutions to enable them to deliver on their mandate,” Nta said.
Also speaking, the Secretary of the commission, Dr Elvis Oglafa, reminded participants that ICPC was established to combat corruption and other related offences, to make national development realistic.
“Therefore, how we conduct ourselves in the work process and how we monitor and evaluate our performance and progress are crucial, “Oglafa said.
Earlier, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, commended the ICPC for maintaining integrity in work places and among the citizenry.
el-Rufai, who was represented by his Deputy, Mr. Barnabas Bantex, noted that the effort of the anti-graft agency was delivering vital public services and creating the needed condition for the nation to thrive to greatness. (NAN)