Economic Hardship Not A Reason To Be Corrupt – Accountability Lab

• Economic hardship is not a justification for corruption in Nigeria, according to Friday Odeh, Country Director of Accountability Lab
• The Integrity Innovation Lab workshop aims to collaborate with organizations like the ICPC to develop ideas that promote accountability and integrity in the public sector for a corrupt-free society

Mr. Friday Odeh, Country Director of Accountability Lab, has stated that the recent economic hardship in the country is not a sufficient reason for Nigerians to become corrupt, both in the public and private sectors.

Addressing journalists in Abuja during a two-day Integrity Innovation Lab workshop, he said public servants should not abandon their ethics and integrity because of the country’s difficult economic situation but rather work hard to build a better Nigeria.

He advised Nigerian workers not to work for their pockets but for the country as a whole, saying that economic hardship should not lead to behavioural changes.

The purpose of the integrity workshop, according to Odeh, was to support the Lab’s integrity icons and see how they could collaborate with organizations such as the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to develop innovative ideas that would increase accountability and integrity in the public sector.

He hoped that the ideas generated would be introduced and implemented in government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to achieve a corrupt-free system and country.

Odeh believes the Lab should ‘name and fame’ Nigerians who have demonstrated Integrity in their various areas of influence, emphasizing that doing so will encourage them to do more and encourage others to be better, “and we will achieve a corrupt free society.”

Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), said that while it was time for Nigerians to begin naming and shaming corrupt members of society, rewarding those who had demonstrated integrity was also important.

Speaking through the commission’s Director of Education, Mr. Peter Okor Odey, he stated that the ICPC has given integrity awards to people who have consistently demonstrated transparency and accountability in their spheres of influence.

He stated that identifying people who have demonstrated integrity in their influence areas would help change and encourage the average Nigerian.

He also advised state governments to establish anti-corruption and transparency monitoring units in their agencies to assist them in identifying corruption-prone areas, conducting system studies and reviews, and advising organization management on the best way to reduce corruption.