Abuja – The Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Malam Shuaibu Lawal, says all Nigerians must be resolute in support of total eradication of corruption in the country.
He stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at a one-day “Roundtable on Corruption in Governance and Society’’ organised by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German political party foundation.
Lawal said in his paper entitled “Causes of Corruption’’, that there was no single definition of corruption because corruption itself varied from society to society and from culture to culture.
He said, “citizens owe certain duties to the state and have a role to play to eliminate corruption. They should pay their taxes, obey traffic rules, respect anything governed by law.
“Legislative and political structures are key to fighting corruption; if the legislature is unwilling then you can’t start.
“The civil society organisations and the media are very important partners in the fight against corruption but the most important of all is the political will.
“The causes, way and manner to fight corruption vary from society to society.
“Cultures must be considered when talking of corruption in individual societies; what obtains in Jigawa for instance, may not be acceptable in Calabar and vice versa.
“Corruption is something that has eaten deep into the Nigerian society but when it fights back, it fights dirty and nasty.’’
Also in a paper entitled “Corruption in Public Procurement’’ Chairman of Labour Party, Alhaji Abdulkadir Salaam, said that corruption in procurement as was the case in other sectors of the society, was vast.
Salaam said that it was so bad that should the government appoint an individual, his people would organise receptions for him and various courtesy visits.
“He, in turn, will employ people from his area whether they are qualified or not and this greatly affects the job he is appointed to do.’’
Earlier in her welcome address, KAS Country Representative, Mrs Hildegard Behrendt-Kigozi, recalled that the foundation came into being after the World War II for civic education to avert a recurrence of the war.
The organisation, she said, started operations in Nigeria about 14 years ago, working with the media, security agencies and civil society organisations.
Behrendt-Kigozi said that the foundation focused on corruption because of the present administration’s emphasis on fighting the menace in Nigeria. (NAN)