The Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening efforts to combat corruption at all levels.
He made this statement at the Validation Meeting of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) (2022-2026) Action Plan in Abuja on Friday.
Fagbemi noted that NACS would provide a comprehensive national anti-corruption strategy for all sectors and stakeholders in the fight against corruption. He emphasized the need to review the NACS Action plan after the expiration of the previous plan (2017-2021) to ensure enhanced participation, effectiveness, and responsiveness.
Fagbemi said, “After a series of consultations and collaboration between the 22 MDAs with anti-corruption and accountability mandates, the draft NACS Action Plan is before us, for our perusal and validation,”
He added, “The framework for the NACS Action Plan implementation is focused on five pillars which serve as the driving force for both the public and private sector. The five pillars are prevention of corruption, public engagement, campaign for ethical re-orientation, enforcement and sanction, and recovery and management of proceeds of crime.”
Fagbemi stated that the implementation of the Action Plan would strengthen the legal and institutional framework designed to prevent and combat corruption. He also highlighted the importance of mainstreaming anti-corruption principles into governance and service delivery, as well as sub-national public administration.
Mrs. Jane Onwumere, Head of the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms, Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Task Team, also spoke at the event. She noted that the 2022-2026 Action Plan would revitalize service delivery in the country. Onwumere acknowledged that Nigeria had undergone two cycles of review of its implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2014 and 2019, respectively.
She highlighted the challenges faced during the implementation of the previous Action Plan (2017-2021) but noted that progress was made, including the passage of critical legislation such as the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Onwumere also mentioned the growth of transparency initiatives like Beneficial Ownership Disclosures, Open Contracting, and Routine Corruption Risk Assessments.
The event was attended by heads of most MDAs with anti-corruption and accountability mandates, as well as other stakeholders, including the current president of the Nigeria Bar Association and representatives from various agencies.
