ICPC To Partner AACAS For Counter Fraud, Anti-Corruption
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN has stated a willingness to establish a partnership between the Commission and the African Academy for Counter Fraud and Anti-Corruption Studies (AACAS).
Prof. Owasanoye made this known during a courtesy visit to the Commission by some members of AACAS recently. He stated that the Commission was not opposed to working with other anti-corruption institutions as long as the intending partners are legally registered and their core mandate is in line with the mission and vision of ICPC.
The Commission’s boss disclosed that ICPC is often inundated with similar requests from diverse organisations who ultimately turn out to be attempting to appropriate power to themselves. He further elaborated that covetousness of powers in a field containing multiple players often raises red flags as to the true nature of partnership proposals to ICPC.
The Chairman, in a statement posted on the Commission’s official website, assured the delegation that the Commission will set up a committee with a view to achieving a mutually beneficial relationship between both organisations. The members of the committee are the Provost of the Commission’s Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), Directors of Operations and ATRM amongst others.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Chairman of AACAS Advisory Board, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, stated that their organisation prided itself on cardinal foundations of integrity, partnership, leadership through service and diversity. He noted that the vision of the proposed partnership is based on the perceived similarities in vision of their academy and that of ICPC’s ACAN.
Dr. Olowo, who is also a Commissioner with Lagos State government shared some of the objectives of AACAS including corruption research, quality education and training, promoting economic growth and driving social change.
Dr Olowo revealed that AACAS is hoping to implement an accreditation exercise called Corporate Compliance Standards Certificate which is a system of grading corporate bodies in relation to the efficiency of their service delivery. This, he hopes would have a positive effect on how Nigerians and businesses are perceived in the national and international economic sphere.
Also in her introductory address, the Chief Operating Officer of AACAS, Mrs. Bawo Egbakhumeh enumerated the various benefits of the proposed partnership including certification for staff of ICPC by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), participation in ACFE master class, training of Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units (ACTUs) on global investigation techniques, whistleblowing and customised executive education on the latest anti-fraud technology.
