The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, Friday, lamented that despite efforts at curbing sleaze in the polity over the years, the country is still bedeviled by massive corruption.
Fayemi stated this at a ceremony commemorating the International Anti-Corruption Day 2016, organized by the Inter-Agency Task Team, IATT, with its secretariat, the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms, TUGAR.
He stated that the constitution of the country provides a basis for a strong anti-corruption policy making, noting, however, that the country had not been able to translate the policy into an implementable strategy that would address the issues of corruption in all tiers of governance as well as to non-state actors.
Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the National Stakeholders Working Group of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, disclosed that as a result of these lapses, the country do not have an acceptable handle for monitoring and evaluation of its
performance.
He said, “There is no denying the fact that our country has massive corruption problems. Efforts directed at fighting the monster in Nigeria, are as old as the country itself. Nigeria has an array of legislations and institutions for fighting corruption.
“The frameworks and legislations are there in the Constitution as well as the enabling Acts of the various anti-corruption agencies. Our Constitution provides a basis for strong anti-corruption policy making.”
He argued that corruption not only undermines development, but is an enabler for other crimes, thereby, perpetuating a vicious cycle.
To this end, Fayemi stated that if the country is to make significant progress on developmental issues, corruption must be reduced to the barest minimum, while he also noted that there is an urgent need to adopt a holistic anti-corruption strategy, which he said would serve to improve synergy and measure performance.
He said, “To ensure transparency and accountability in managing our resources, the government is also promoting beneficial ownership disclosures with emphasis on the extractive sector. NEITI is working to developing an appropriate roadmap for these disclosures in accordance with the EITI principles.
“To further promote transparency within the polity, the government has signed on to the Open Government partnership and developed an action plan for implementation. We have also made concerted efforts to improve the resource base of the country in order to enhance development.
‘We have now placed greater emphasis in developing the solid mineral sector. The recently released roadmap for the sector will ensure enhanced revenue for the government and the communities where these natural resources are located, while also ensuring transparency and accountability in the process.”
Fayemi, however, stated that a lot still needed to be done in the country, adding that for the country to succeed in its fight against corruption, it must make transparency and accountability its ways of doing business.
