The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and President, Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa, NACIWA, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has identified integrity as a critical and compelling need for sustainable development of nations and institutions in the West-African sub-region.
He stated this in Abuja on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at the opening ceremony of a two-day Leadership Conference for Heads of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa at the New ECOWAS Secretariat.
Olukoyede pointed out that without integrity in public institutions, the promises of economic integration, democratic governance, peace and sustainable development cannot be realised.
Corruption, he said, “weakens public confidence, diverts resources from essential services, distorts markets, undermines security and threatens the legitimacy of the state.”
He disclosed that the corruption environment has changed significantly, with criminal networks increasingly operating across borders. Illicit financial flows, he said, move through multiple jurisdictions within seconds, digital platforms and emerging technologies creating new opportunities for development, and also producing new forms of fraud, concealment, manipulation and financial crimes.
While noting that Artificial Intelligence has transformed the way information is generated, analysed and deployed, through enormous potential for detection, intelligence development, risk assessment and institutional efficiency, he stressed that it also raises questions of governance, ethics, accountability, data integrity and organisational readiness.
Explaining the rationale for the Conference, Olukoyede stated that it was designed as a leadership development programme and a statement of institutional intent. “We are signaling that leadership development, institutional capacity, peer learning and implementation must become permanent features of the Network’s programming. We are signaling that West African anti-corruption institutions are prepared to take collective responsibility for strengthening the regional integrity architecture,” he said.
The Conference, attended by heads of anti-graft agencies and institutions in West Africa, including Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau, Dr. Abdulahi Bello, representatives of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, is devoting ample time to discussions on artificial intelligence in transformational leadership; institutional independence, integrity and accountability; institutional reform and high performance; digital transformation and intelligence-led enforcement; judicial partnership; transnational corruption; cross-border cooperation; asset recovery leadership; and effective board and executive governance.
Explaining what successful anti-corruption fight entails, the EFCC’s boss stated that anti-corruption agencies are required to pursue difficult cases, confront powerful interests, protect the integrity of sensitive investigations, respond to rapidly evolving financial crimes, manage public expectations and maintain confidence in their work.
In so doing, he noted that the agencies, at the same time, must ensure due process, institutional accountability, professionalism, fairness and respect for the rule of law. These challenges he noted “requires more than technical competence. They require strategic leadership.”
“Our institutions must be built to outlive us. They must have clear systems, credible governance arrangements, professional personnel, reliable technology, institutional memory and cultures that preserve integrity across successive leadership transitions”, he said, adding that “We must build anti-corruption institutions that are strong because their systems are strong; trusted because their processes are credible; and sustainable because their capabilities are deliberately developed and continuously renewed.”
In a lecture tagged: NACIWA Distinguished Leadership Lecture, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, stated West African states are facing defining moments, when leadership is measured not by the eloquence of its pronouncements, but by the strength, credibility and integrity of institutions built and sustained. “West Africa stands at such a moment. Across our region, citizens are demanding governments that are accountable, economies that are transparent, and public institutions worthy of their confidence,” he said.
According to him, protecting public trust and ensuring that those entrusted with public resources remain accountable requires more than robust legal frameworks or institutional mandates, but demands courageous, visionary and transformational leadership. “Leadership that is prepared to uphold the rule of law without fear of failure, strengthen institutional independence, inspire public confidence, and leave behind institutions that are stronger than individuals,” adding that the difference between an institution that merely occupies space and one that changes the trajectory of a nation is almost always leadership.
He warned that public office is not a license for self-enrichment and that those entrusted with public resources must always be prepared to account for how those resources are managed. Nigeria, he said, remains unwavering in its commitment to combating corruption through strong institutions and faithful application of laws.
Other speakers at the Conference are, Dr. Olubunmi Ajayi, former Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, former chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Mr. Dein Whyte, Dr, Arabi D.I., among others
The leadership Conference is the maiden edition put together by the Executive Committee of NACIWA. The well-attended Conference features delegates from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, Togo, Gambia, Senegal and other West African countries. The Conference is expected to come out with the Abuja Leadership Declaration, which would capture NACIWA’s shared understanding of the leadership standards, institutional priorities and cooperative actions required to strengthen anti-corruption effectiveness across West Africa.
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