By Mustapha Yauri
Abuja – Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has called on other state governors to replicate his model of Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission to support the Federal Government in the war against corruption.
Ganduje made the call in a statement issued by the State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
The governor explained the fight against corruption was the cardinal principle of the Kano State Government under his administration.
Ganduje disclosed that since 2015 when the administration came into power, it had done everything possible to reorganise the commission through the provision of vibrant leadership and the non-interference policy.
He said that the interventions earned the public acceptance of the institution as an unbiased umpire.
According to him, the state anti-corruption commission has offices in all the 44 local government areas in the state to enlarge the scope of its operation and to bring it closer to the people.
The governor rated the performance of the state Anti-Corruption Commission as satisfactory in the last one year.
According to him, the commission had placed the state in a leading role in the country in terms of the fight against corruption, protection and promotion of human rights.
The governor disclosed that the commission had concluded plans to train 200 personnel at the ICPC academy to boost its performance.
The Chairman of the commission, Malam Muhuyi Rimin-Gado, said that the commission was enjoying its independence without hindrance or unnecessary interference as provided by Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Law 2008 as amended.
Rimingado said that Nigeria was endowed with abundant human and natural resources that could make the country one of the most prosperous and economically buoyant nations in the world.
“Corruption has been hampering the growth and development of our economy, it fuels militancy which threatens corporate existence of the nation,’’ he said.
The statement also quoted the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), commending the initiative of the governor.
Malami lauded the state for remaining consistently focused on promoting the culture of transparency and accountability.
He noted that Kano state recorded the feat through the establishment of the state Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
He acknowledged that the establishment of the commission was the first of its kind that gave a clear indication that the fight against corruption was gaining momentum in the country.
“Corruption undermines economic development, political stability, rule of law, social development, disrupts social order and destroys public trust in the governance system,” the minister said.
According to him, a recent report released by the United Nations revealed that every year, 1 trillion dollars is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption globally.
“The disturbing trend is that in Nigeria, we have established that the link between corruption, organised crime, terrorism and insecurity is one of the reasons why Nigeria has remained largely underdeveloped despite our huge natural resources endowment,” Malami stressed.
“It is one of the reasons why Nigeria has remained largely underdeveloped despite our huge natural resources endowment,” the minister said.
Malami therefore advised other state governors to emulate the Kano model of fighting corruption to deepen good governance in the country.
NAN also reports that the world marks the Anti-Corruption Day on Dec. 9 annually.