Media managers, agencies, others back anti-graft drive

The Federal Government’s anti-corruption campaign received a boost at the weekend as media managers and anti-corruption agencies canvassed support for it.

Their support came during a three-day media workshop on anti-corruption held in Calabar, Cross River State from October 13
to 15, 2016.

The programme, which was organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the European Union (EU), was attended by participants drawn from the media, judiciary and anti-corruption agencies.

Some of the agencies represented at the event were the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Justices Ademola,
Dimgba resume sittings (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (ICPC), Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Code of
Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Public Complaints Commission (PCP), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML).

In a communiqué, the participants urged the media to be familiar with anti-corruption laws and support their enforcement in line with due process.

They asked the media to advocate the early consideration and passage of the whistleblower, Justice Sector Reform and other
relevant bills pending at Media managers, agencies, others back anti-graft drive the National Assembly.

Stressing the role of journalists in the fight against corruption, the workshop urged anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) to build trust and confidence in the media and develop strategic communication plans for their operations.

To expeditiously prosecute corruption cases, they urged the government to establish special courts to tackle graft matters and that the fight against the menace should not be limited to the federal level but should include states and local councils.

They also implored the media to establish anti-corruption desks, forge a national consensus in the fight against corruption, including the use of FOI Act, open data, e-governance and other transparency initiatives.

While urging media managers and journalists to uphold the ethics of the profession and maintain integrity, the participants asked media owners to take the welfare of their members of staff as top priority.

The communiqué stressed the need for the media to promote good governance by upholding their responsibilities
in accordance with the nation’s constitution and noted the importance of value re-orientation of citizens in the fight against corruption.

The participants noted the need to curb institutional corruption through systemic reviews and that ACAs should help build the capacity of the media in the fight against corruption, adding that journalists should not only break anticorruption news but must stay on the issues