Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has called on state governments to become more proactive in the fight against corruption, urging commissioners of information to adopt strategic communication as a tool for promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical reorientation at the grassroots level.

Speaking at a one-day roundtable engagement in Abuja yesterday, the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, identified states and local governments as the real battleground of corruption, saying they are closest to the people and are where resource leakages have the most devastating impact.

The workshop, themed “Partnership for Strengthening Transparency at the State and Local Government Levels Through Strategic Communication,” brought together commissioners of information, lawmakers, media professionals, and civil society actors.

According to him, when public resources are mismanaged, it is the ordinary Nigerians who suffer most: children without textbooks, farmers without access roads, and the sick without healthcare.

He highlighted the importance of strategic communication in shaping public behaviour and fostering a culture of integrity, particularly through collaboration with media, civil society, and community stakeholders.

CHAIRMAN of the House Committee on Anti-Corruption, Kayode Akiola, in his remarks, warned that corruption remained a major impediment to Nigeria’s development and called on information managers across the country to use their platforms to demand accountability and promote transparency across all tiers of government.

Akiola gave assurances that the National Assembly would continue to strengthen legal frameworks to support a corruption-free governance system.

MEANWHILE, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, in his contribution, reassured Nigerians that anti-corruption agencies under President Bola Tinubu’s administration were operating with full independence and would never be deployed as political weapons.

According to Malagi, the administration’s fight against corruption is rooted in fairness, transparency, and the rule of law.

He explained that the President had deliberately strengthened the institutional framework of the ICPC and the EFCC to deliver their mandates without interference.