FEMA Inaugurates Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit
By: Nkechi Isa
The Anti-Corruption, and Transparency Unit,(ACTU), of the FCT Emergency Management Agency,(FEMA), has been inaugurated.
In an address at the Inauguration and Induction of members of ACTU, the Ag. Director General of FEMA Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim Sabo, charged them to be diligent; noting that their selection was based on trust.
According to him, government alone cannot fight corruption in the public service, it must be the collective responsibility of all.
Sabo stated that corruption hampers economic development, and increases inequality, poverty, and environmental crises.
“However, all over the World, no country has been adjudged to be totally free from any iota of corruption”.
The Ag. DG stated that one of the most significant anti-corruption measures already taken by the federal government is the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
In a goodwill message, the Chairman of ICPC, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu said that FEMA has a vision to entrench a culture of public safety and effective citizen participation in emergency management; noting that an effective ACTU will be a veritable tool in realizing this vision.
The mandate of ACTU FEMA includes periodic sensitization of staff on and against corruption, examination of systems, processes, and procedures that are prone to corruption and proffering solutions; developing and reviewing code of ethics for staff and ensuring compliance with same.
Other mandates of the Unit are monitoring the budget implementation of the Agency, coordinating the deployment of the Ethics and Integrity Scorecard, (EICS), and undertaking preliminary investigations into complaints/ reports received amongst others.
The ICPC Chairman added that ACTU is not envisioned as a parallel authority to the management, rather it is expected to operate under the direct oversight of the Director General, to complement management’s effort in promoting transparency and accountability within the Agency.
The 7-member ACTU is chaired by a deputy director in the Department of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr Vincent Chachafa.
The Unit, which comprises, a member each from the Accounts Unit, Procurement, Audit, and Legal has a 3-year tenure.
In an acceptance speech, Mr. Vincent Chachafa, said corruption in the country has instituted a rising scale of societal poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and environmental degradation, which in turn are underlying factors for conflicts, fire outbreaks, flooding, and epidemics among other human-induced disasters in the society.
Chachafa promised that the committee would work in line with the terms of reference of the assignment to discharge its duties with no fear or favour.
