Accountability Lab Nigeria, has blamed the erosion of trust in governance on the absence of accountability and ethical conduct in the public service.

According to the accountability body, existing policies if well implemented, will address the behavioural and societal factors driving this crisis.

It therefore called for the integration of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy and the Nigerian Code of Conduct for Public Servants as a counter measure against ethical crises in the public service.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Country Director of the body, Friday Odey, attributed the development to lack of ethical and moral standards in the public service.

Recalling the Public Integrity and Transparency index where the country ranked 4.5 out of 10 in integrity and 12.5 of 20 in transparency, Odey regretted that the statistics exposed the need to tackle corruption and poor ethical behaviour in the public service.

Odeh stressed the need to synchronize National Ethics and Integrity policy developed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and integrate them with the Nigerian Code of Conduct for Public Servants to outline ethical standards and provide a framework for fostering a culture of values and ethical behaviours.

“By leveraging the strengths of both policies, Nigeria can create an environment that promotes accountability, integrity and responsible leadership”, Odey said.

He further urged Nigerian citizens and government to prioritize conversations around social norms and invest into cultivation of integrity to shape actions in the public sector.

A Project Officer at the organization, Mr. Mnenge Shiiwua, also gave measures for effective integration as targeted training highlighting rewards for ethical service, strengthened oversight mechanisms, citizen engagement in accountability and establishment of effective sanctions for unethical practices.