PACAC canvases PPP in restoring integrity in business

The Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has stressed the need for public private partnership in order to reduce systemic corruption, and encourage integrity in the nation’s business environment.

Speaking at the AGM Luncheon of Business Club, Ikeja recently, he said the President Buhari’s efforts to entrench probity in the public and private sectors of the economy are commendable, because both sectors are complementary and integral to the well being of society.

Speaking on the theme: “Integrity in Business and Prevention of Corruption in Corporate Nigeria: The Synergy Required,” he further noted that “the synergy required from both sectors of the economy demands collaboration and cooperation in fighting corruption. Lack of ethics in the private sector and industry practices will ultimately lead to social distrust and more stringent regulations that slow down businesses and affect bottom line,” a development he said called for the enforcement of ethical rules of conduct.

Owasanoye argued that lack of political will to enforce rules forces external intervention. “In the public sector, the same is true. As some of us would have rightly observed, when countries refuse to enforce their own laws, the international community takes the initiative by introducing measures that force rogue countries to tow the line or be isolated. In some instances global frameworks are initiated for sanctions as we find in the role of the international criminal justice system.”

Similarly, he said the inability of the private sector to cleanse its ranks of criminals will ultimately result in external intervention that often leave more scars and negative consequences than intended.

“This is why self-regulation is always better. You control the initiatives, decide the pace, minimise the collateral impact and maintain the sector’s integrity.”
He noted that the current scrutiny of the banking and financial services sector and the role that middlemen play in illicit financial flows and the illegal export of capital is the result of indiscretion of a few.